Reading Angels & Demons
by runningtonirvana1997
Summary: I was looking through the archives and I couldn't find a 'reading the series' story. So I decided to create my own. Please read it! I could use constructive critisism. I am sorry to admit that the beginning is a bit boring, but the further you read. . .I'll let you make your own opinion.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The books appear AN: I am not the author of these books: Angels & Demons, The DaVinci Code, and The Lost Symbol. I am also not the creator of Robert Langdon or any other characters created by Dan Brown. I also do not own Big Time Rush. All I own are the following characters: Courtney Davis, Rachel McKuin, Mary-Grace Smith, Kalyn Weeks, and Mike Holt.  
AN 2: Enjoy!

The head of Harvard University was sitting at his desk when his secretary handed him his mail. Most of it were acceptance letters from the students who were coming next fall. He put those in a separate stack from the rest. Then he found the bills and put those next to the acceptances. All that was left was one ominous letter with no return address.  
Mike Holt Harvard University Boston, Massachusetts Mike took his letter opener and slit the envelope open. He unfolded the letter and read:  
Dear Mr. Holt,  
I know that you might find this letter strange, but Professor Langdon hasn't told you everything. To tell you the whole truth instead of the half-truths he's been telling you, I have sent three books that tell of his adventures when he's not in your school teaching your students. No I have not sent them to you, I have sent them to a group of friends who will be here by tomorrow, if they follow the directions I have sent them. You will read them together. Here is a list of people who will be there, yes you will have to meet the ones who are not at Harvard at the JFK Airport:  
Robert Langdon Vittoria Vetra Sophie Neveu Peter Solomon Gustavo Rocque Kelly Wainright Jennifer Knight Kendall Knight Katie Knight Logan Mitchell James Diamond Carlos Garcia Courtney Davis Rachel McKuin Mary-Grace Smith and Kalyn Weeks.  
You will start reading when the mentioned people are in your office. P.S.: Beware of the teenagers and the red-heads.  
As he puzzled over the post-script, Mike Holt grabbed the phone to place a call with his current Religious Symbology professor.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: They arrive AN: Read first chapter for disclaimer. Enjoy!

Robert was sitting in the dean's office along with Sophie Neveu, Vittoria Vetra, and Peter Solomon. They were sitting in silence, waiting for the dean to get back with these people from the airport. Robert recognized nine of the names. One of them was the famous record producer Gustavo Rocque, who's music he never really cared for. The other eight were the four members of the boy band Big Time Rush and their girlfriends, two of whom were cousins.  
It was around noon when the dean Mike Holt finally arrived. He walked through the door with twelve people following behind. Robert recognized Gustavo Rocque and the boy band, but none of the others. Gustavo came in right behind Mike with who looked like his secretary following close behind. A woman with firey red hair followed them with her arm around a brown-haired pre-teen girl. Kendall Knight, Logan Mitchell, James Diamond, and Carlos Garcia followed with four petite girls next to them. One had short brown hair, blue-green eyes, tan skin, and was standing next to Kendall. Another had short brown hair with purple streaks, blue-green eyes, slightly tan skin, and was standing next to Carlos. The third had long brown hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and was standing next to James. The last one had dark auburn hair, emerald green eyes that were behind glasses, slightly tan skin, and was standing next to Logan. The ones next to Carlos and Logan were the taller ones, while the other two were the shorter ones. When they were sitting down, Mike said, "Well, who wants to read first?"  
Apparantly, he carried the box in without Robert noticing.  
The dark auburn haired girl said, "How about we go youngest to oldest?"  
The pre-teen girl said, "Why do I have to go first?"  
"Cause, obviously, you're the youngest, Katie," Kendall said.  
"I only said that so she can get her turn over with," the dark auburn haired girl said, "and because I have a bad feeling about this book."  
"What kind of bad feeling, Courtney?" Logan asked.  
"Just that we are going to have some pretty bad reactions to certain parts," Courtney replied. "So, if those bad parts are in Katie's chapters, she can hand the book to Kalyn so she can keep on reading."  
"Shouldn't we keep a list so that we know who's next?" Sophie asked.  
"Good idea, Ms. Neveu. Let me get a piece of paper," Mike said.  
After they all wrote their names down from youngest to oldest, Katie picked up the book titled Angels & Demons and began reading. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Prologue AN: If you want the disclaimer, go to chapter one. Thank you! Enjoy!

'Prologue,' Katie read.

**'Physicist Leonardo Vetra smelled burning flesh, and he knew it was his own. He stared up in terror at the dark figure looming over him. "What do you want!"**  
**"La chiave," the raspy voice replied. "The password."**  
**"But. . . I don't"**  
**The intruder pressed down again, grinding the white-hot object deeper into Vetra's chest. There was the hiss of broiling flesh.**  
**Vetra cried out in agony. "There is no password!" He felt himself drifting toward unconsciousness.**  
**The figure glared. "Ne avevo paura. I was afraid of that."**  
**Vetra fought to keep his senses, but the darkness was closing in. His ony solace was in knowing his attacker would never obtain what he had come for. A moment later, however, the figure produced a blade and brought it to Vetra's face. The blade hovered. Carefully. Surgically.**  
**"For the love of God!" Vetra screamed. But it was too late.'**

"Please tell me that's the end of that chapter!" Rachel said.  
"Yes, please," Vittoria said.  
"Don't worry, it is," Katie sighed.  
"Thank goodness," everyone sighed.  
Katie handed the book to Kalyn.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Chapter one AN: Same as before. Enjoy!

**'One,'** Kalyn read.  
**'High atop the steps of the Great Pyramid of Giza a young woman laughed and called down to him. "Robert, hurry up! I knew I should have married a younger man!" Her smile was magic.'**

Everyone except Peter, Vittoria, and Sophie looked at Robert.  
"So," Carlos said, "dreaming about your wife, girlfriend, dream-girl?"  
Robert ignored him and said, "Ms. Weeks, if you would continue reading, please."

**'He struggled to keep up, but his legs felt like stone. "Wait," he begged. "Please. . ."**  
**As he climbed, his vision began to blur. There was a thundering in his ears. I must reach her! But when he looked up again, the woman had disappeared. In her place stood an old man with rotting teeth. The man stared down, curling his lips into a lonely grimace. Then he let out a scream of anguish that resounded across the desert.'**

"Nightmare," Carlos said. "I repeat we have a nightmare."  
"Rachel," Courtney said. "If you don't make Carlos shut up, I will."  
Carlos hurriedly pretended to lock his lips and gave the key to Rachel, who put it in her pocket.

**'Robert Langdon awoke with a start from his nightmare. The phone beside his bed was ringing. Dazed, he picked up the receiver.**  
**"Hello?"**  
**"I'm looking for Robert Langdon," a man's voice said.**  
**Langdon sat up in his bed and tried to clear his mind. "This . . . is Robert Langdon." He squinted at his digital clock. It was 5:18 A.M.**  
**"I must see you immediately."**  
**"Who is this?"**  
**"My name is Maximilian Kohler.'**

"Kohler?" Logan asked.  
"Yes," Vittoria said. "Why?"  
"I did an assignment on last names back in sixth grade and one of them was Kohler," Logan said. "It's from South Germany and it's an occupational name for charcoal burner."

**'I'm a discrete particle physicist."**  
**"A what?" Langdon could barely focus. "Are you sure you got the right Langdon?"**  
**"You're a professor of religious iconology at Harvard University. You've written three books on symbology and-"**  
**"Do you know what time it is?"**  
**"I apologize. I have something you need to see. I can't discuss it on the phone."**  
**A knowing groan escaped Langdon's lips. This had happened before. One of the perils of writing books about religious symbology was the calls from religious zealots who wanted him to confirm their latest sign from God. Last month a stripper from Oklahoma had promised Langdon the best sex of his life if he would fly down and verify the authenticity of a cruciform that had magically appeared on her bed sheets.'**

"She most likely painted it on," Courtney said.

**'The Shroud of Tulsa, Langdon had called it.**  
**"How did you get my number?" Langdon tried to be polite, despite the hour.'**

"Simple," James said, "You've got a stalker."

**'"On the Worldwide Web. The site for your book."**  
**Langdon frowned. He was damn sure his book's site did not include his home phone number. The man was obviously lying.**  
**"I need to see you," the caller insisted. "I'll pay you well."**  
**Now Langdon was getting mad. "I'm sorry, but I really-"**  
**"If you leave immediately, you can be here by-"**  
**"I'm not going anywhere! It's five o'clock in the morning!" Langdon hung up and collapsed back in bed. He closed his eyes and tried to fall back asleep. It was no use. The dream was emblazoned in his mind. Reluctantly, he put on his robe and went downstairs.**  
**Robert Langdon wandered barefoot through his deserted Massachusetts Victorian home and nursed his ritual insomnia remedy-a mug of steaming Nestle's Quik. The April moon filtered through the bay windows and played on the oriental carpets. Langdon's colleagues often joked that his place looked more like an anthropology museum than a home. His shelves were packed with religious artifacts from around the world-an ekuaba from Ghana,'**

"A what?" everyone but Robert asked.  
"A wooden ritual fertility doll," Robert answered.  
"What's it supposed to be used for?" Logan asked. "No one is really for sure," Robert said.

**'a gold cross from Spain, a cycladic idol from the Aegean, and even a rare woven boccus from Borneo, a young warrior's symbol of perpetual youth.**  
**As Langdon sat on his brass Maharishi's chest and savored the warmth of the chocolate, the bay window caught his reflection. The image was distorted and pale . . . like a ghost. An aging ghost, he thought, cruelly reminded that his youthful spirit was living in a mortal shell. Although not overly handsome in a classical sense, the forty-year-old Langdon'**

"You're forty?" the teens asked.  
"Yes?" Langdon said, phrasing the answer as a question.  
"You just don't look it," Courtney said.  
"Yeah," Mary-Grace said, "you look about thirty-five-ish."

**'had what his female colleagues referred to as an "erudite" appeal-wisps of gray in his thick brown hair, probing blue eyes, an arrestingly deep voice, and the strong, carefree smile of a collegiate athlete. A varsity diver in prep school and college, Langdon still had the body of a swimmer, a toned, six-foot physique that he vigilantly maintained with fifty laps a day in the university pool. Langdon's friends had always viewed him as a bit of an enigma-a man caught between centuries. On weekends he could be seen lounging on the quad in blue jeans, discussing computer graphics or religious history with students; other times he could be spotted in his Harris tweed and paisley vest, photographed in the pages of upscale art magazines at museum openings where he had been asked to lecture.'**

Everyone looked at Robert and noticed he had on a T-shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers.

**'Although a tough teacher and strict disciplinarian, Langdon was the first to embrace what he hailed as the "lost art of good clean fun." He relished recreation with an infectious fanaticism that has earned him a fraternal acceptance among his students.'**

"Now I really want to go to college here," Logan said.  
"Why do you even want to go to college?" Kendall asked.  
"So if and when people stop really paying attention to the band, I can become a doctor," Logan answered.  
"A doctor?" Sophie asked.  
"Yeah, or more specifically, a marine biologist."  
"I can give you some pointers," Vittoria said.  
"Thanks," Logan said.

**'His campus nickname-"The Dolphin"-was a reference both to his affable nature and his legendary ability to dive into a pool and outmaneuver the entire opposing squad in a water polo match.**  
**As Langdon sat alone, absently gazing into the darkness, the silence of his home was shattered again,'**

"By a robber who was trying to get in to kill him," Carlos said, his face so serious that just about everyone started to ask theirselves if he should be put in a mental hospital.

**'this time by the ring of his fax machine. Too exhausted to be annoyed, Langdon forced a tired chuckle.**  
**God's people, he thought. Two thousand years of waiting for their Messiah, and they're still persistent as h***.**  
**Wearily, he returned his empty mug to the kitchen and walked slowly to his oak-paneled study. The incoming fax lay on the tray. Sighing, he scooped up the paper and looked at it.**  
**Instantly, a wave of nausea hit him. The image on the page was that of a human corpse. The body had been stripped naked, and its head had been twisted, facing completely backwards.'**

Everyone looked about ready to barf, especially the teens. After a few moments where they calmed down, Kalyn began to read again.

**'On the victim's chest was a burn. The man had been branded. . . imprinted with a single word. It was a word Langdon knew well. Very well. He stared at the ornate lettering in disbelief.'**

"What's it supposed to say?" Kalyn asked.  
James, who was sitting next to her, looked over her shoulder at the word and said, "Give it to Logan."  
Kalyn handed the book to Logan. He held the book right-side up, then turned it up-side down, and said, "It's an ambigram of the word 'Illuminati'."  
"Thanks," Kalyn said as Logan handed the book back.

**'"Illuminati," he stammered, his heart pounding. It can't be. . . In slow motion, afraid of what he was about to witness, Langdon rotated the fax 180 degrees. He looked at the word upside down.**  
**Instantly, the breath went out of him. It was like he had been hit by a truck. Barely able to believe his eyes, he rotated the fax again, reading the brand right-side up and then up-side down.'**

"How did you know to do that?" Gustavo asked, surprised that a seventeen, almost eighteen-year-old young man knew that little trick.  
"You know that my dad was an artist, right?" Logan asked.  
"Yeah," everyone said, even Robert, because he wanted to know, too.  
"Well," Logan began, "he learned how to make ambigrams and taught me how to make and read them, which is the reason why I can also read up-side down."  
"No wonder you don't have to sit next to us to help us with our homework," Kendall said, the other teens nodding in agreement.  
Logan blushed and said, "Kalyn, can you keep reading please?"

**'"Illuminati," he whispered.**  
**Stunned, Langdon collapsed in a chair. He sat a moment in utter bewilderment. Gradually, his eyes were drawn to the blinking red light on his fax machine. Whoever had sent this fax was still on the line. . . waiting to talk. Langdon gazed at the blinking light a long time. Then, trembling, he picked up the reciever.'**

"That's the end," Kalyn said.  
"My turn," Rachel said, grabbing the book from Kalyn.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Chapter 2 AN: Same as before. Enjoy!

**'Two,'** Rachel read.

**'"Do I have your attention now?" the man's voice said when Langdon finally answered the line.**  
**"Yes, sir, you** beep **well do.'**

Rachel looked up and said to the questioning looks, "I don't cuss."

**'You want to explain yourself?"**  
**"I tried to tell you before." The voice was rigid, mechanical. "I'm a physicist. I run a research facility. We've had a murder. You saw the body."'**

"Kind of hard not to when you send a fax of it," Courtney said.

**'"How did you find me?" Langdon could hardly focus. His mind was racing from the image on the fax.**  
**"I already told you. The Worldwide Web. The site for your book, The Art of the Illuminati."**  
**Langdon tried to gather his thoughts. His book was virtually unknown in mainstream library circles, but it had developed quite a following on-line. Nonetheless, the caller's claim still made no sense.**  
**"That page has no contact information," Langdon challenged. "I'm certain of it."'**

"You're just in denial that you have a stalker," James said.

**'"I have people here at the lab very adept at extracting user information from the Web."'**

"And now your stalker has hundreds of stalkers," James said.  
"James!" everyone shouted.  
"What?" James asked. "It could happen."  
Everyone rolled their eyes and Rachel continued reading.

**'Langdon was skeptical. "Sounds like your lab knows a lot about the Web."**  
**"We should," the man fired back. "We invented it."**  
**Something in the man's voice told Langdon he was not joking.'**

"I think he's delusional," James said.  
"Mr. Holt, do you by any chance have any duct tape?" Courtney asked sweetly.  
"Yes I do, Miss Davis," Mike said.  
*Ten minuets later*  
James was overly duct-taped to a chair that was between Robert and Gustavo, including his mouth.  
"Don't you think you over-did it?" Logan asked. "Besides, after Rachel is finished with this chapter, he's supposed to read."  
"I'll just rip the piece that's on his mouth off," Courtney replied while handing the now empty roll that the duct tape was originally on back to Mike. "Sorry I had to use all of it."  
"It's alright, Miss Davis. Continue reading, if you may, Miss McKuin."

**'"I must see you," the caller insisted.'**

Kendall and Carlos looked at James and decided not to say anything.

**'"This is not a matter we can discuss on the phone. My lab is only an hour's flight from Boston."**  
**Langdon stood in the dim light of his study and analyzed the fax in his hand. The image was over-powering, possibly representing the epigraphical find of the century, a decade of his research confirmed in a single symbol.**  
**"It's urgent," the voice pressured.**  
**Langdon's eyes were locked on the brand. Illuminati, he read over and over. His work has always been based on the symbolic equivalent of fossils-ancient documents and historical heresay-but this image before him was today. Present tense. He felt like a paleontologist coming face-to-face with a living dinosaur. "I've taken the liberty of sending a plane for you," the voice said. "It will be in Boston in twenty minuets."'**

"It's creepy how he knew you'd go," Logan said.  
"How did you know he went?" Katie asked.  
"It's not like this very thick book will be all about him teaching," Logan said. "No offense, Mr. Langdon."  
"None taken, Mr. Mitchell," Robert responded.

**'Langdon felt his mouth go dry. An hour's flight. . .**  
**"Please forgive my presumption," the voice said. "I need you here."**  
**Langdon looked again at the fax-an ancient myth confirmed in black and white. The implication were frightening. He gazed absently through the bay window. The first hint of dawn was sifting through the birch trees in his backyard, but the view looked somehow different this morning. As an odd combination of fear and exhilaration settled over him, Langdon knew he had no choice. "You win," he said. "Tell me where to meet the plane."'**

"That's it," Rachel said.  
"Hand me the book," Courtney said as she got up. When Rachel did, Courtney walked over to James and ripped the piece of duct tape off of his mouth.  
"AH!" James yelled. "That hurt!"  
"No, really?" Courtney said sarcastically. She looked from Robert to Gustavo. "Which one of you is going to turn the pages for him?"  
"I guess I will," Gustavo said.  
"Thanks," Courtney said as she walked back to her seat next to Logan.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Chapter Three

AN: Same as before. Enjoy!

**'Three,'** James read.

**'Thousands of miles away, two men were meeting. The chamber was dark. Medieval. Stone.**  
**"Benvenuto," the man in charge said. He was seated in the shadows, out of sight. "Were you successful?"**  
**"Si," the dark figure replied. "Perfettamente." His words were as hard as the rock walls.**  
**"And there will be no doubt who is responsible?"**  
**"None."**  
**"Superb. Do you have what I asked for?"**  
**The killer's eyes glistened, black like oil. He produced a heavy electronic device and set it on the table. The man in the shadow's seemed pleased. "You have done well."**  
**"Serving the brotherhood is an honor," the killer said. "Phase two begins shortly.'**

"Phase two?" Carlos asked. "What happened to phase one?"  
"The question is," Logan said, "What was phase one?"  
Everyone but Robert and Vittoria shrugged.

**'Get some rest. Tonight we change the world."'**

"That's it," James said.

"Seriously," Carlos said as Gustavo handed the book to him. "I get a long one."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Chapter Four

AN: Same as before. Enjoy!

**'Four,'** Carlos read.

**'Robert Langdon's Saab 900S tore out of the Callahan Tunnel and emerged on the east side of Boston Harbor near the entrance to Logan Airport. Checking his directions Langdon found Aviation Road and turned left past the old Eastern Airlines Building. Three hundred yards down the access road a hangar loomed in the darkness. A large number "4" was painted on it. He pulled into the parking lot and got out of his car. A round-faced man in a blue flight suit emerged from behind the building. "Robert Langdon?" he called. The man's voice was friendly. He had an accent Langdon couldn't place.**  
**"That's me," Langdon said, locking his car. "Perfect timing," the man said. "I've just landed. Follow me, please."**  
**As they circled the building, Langdon felt tense. He was not accustomed to cryptic phone calls and secret rendezvous with strangers. Not knowing what to expect he had donned his usual classroom attire-a pair of chinos, a turtleneck, and a Harris tweed suit jacket. As they walked, he thought about the fax in his jacket pocket, still unable to believe the image it depicted.**  
**The pilot seemed to sense Langdon's anxiety. "Flying's not a problem for you, is it, sir?"**

Gustavo, Kelly, Jennifer, Katie, Kalyn, James, Rachel, Carlos, Mary-Grace, Kendall, and Courtney all looked at Logan, who was looking at the bookshelves while saying, "I don't know what you're talking about."  
Courtney turned to Vittoria, Sophie, Robert, Mike, and Peter and said, "Every time we have to get on a plane, we have to give Logan something to knock him out for the full flight so he doesn't wake up on the plane and freak out."  
"I just don't like planes, alright," Logan said. "Kendall doesn't like spiders-"  
"Yes," Kendall said, "but, I actually know the reason why I don't and where I got the fear from."  
"Do you like any closed-in spaces?" Robert asked Logan.  
Before he could answer, the other teens said, "No."  
"Claustrophobia," Robert said simply.  
"Huh?" Carlos said.  
"It means the fear of closed-in spaces, basically," Robert said. "Don't worry I have it, too."  
"But it has to stem from something, doesn't it?" Courtney asked.  
"True," Robert conceded and turned to Logan.  
"I've had it for as long as I can remember," Logan said to the unasked question that was on everyone's mind. "Carlos, just read."  
"Not until-"  
"Carlos," Logan growled.  
"Okay! Calm down!"

**'"Not at all," Langdon replied. Branded corpses are a problem for me. Flying I can handle.**  
**The man led Langdon through the length of the hangar. They rounded the corner onto the runway.**  
**Langdon stopped dead in his tracks and gaped at the aircraft parked on the tarmac. "We're riding in that?"**  
**The man grinned. "Like it?"**  
**Langdon stared a long moment. "Like it? What the** beep **is it?"'**

"I don't cuss either," Carlos said. "Logan, you okay?"  
Logan had his eyes closed and was gripping Courtney's hand so hard his knuckles were white. She rubbed her thumb over his hand as he said, "Just trying not to think about it."

**'The craft before them was enormous. It was vaguely reminiscent of the space shuttle except that the top had been shaved off, leaving it perfectly flat. Parked there on the runway, it resembled a colossal wedge.'**

"Should I just stop with the description of this thing?" Carlos asked.  
"No, why?" Kalyn asked.  
Carlos pointed at Logan and Courtney, the latter of whom was glaring at them to say yes.  
"We only have, like, five sentences left of the description," Carlos said.  
Everyone looked at Logan and nodded.  
"Oops," Carlos said. "There's actually another paragraph about it, you want me to skip it, too?"  
Everyone agreed.  
"Two more paragraphs, sorry," Carlos said.  
"Just start reading where it doesn't mention it," Mary-Grace said.

**'Langdon looked up warily at the craft. "I think I'd prefer a conventional jet." The pilot motioned up the gangplank. "This way, please, Mr. Langdon. Watch your step."**  
**Minuets later, Langdon was seated inside the empty cabin. The pilot buckled him into the front row and disappeared toward the front of the aircraft. The cabin itself looked surprisingly like a wide-body commercial airliner. The only exception was that it had no windows, which made Langdon uneasy. He had been haunted his whole life by a mild case of claustrophobia-the vestige of a childhood incident he had never quite overcome.**  
**Langdon's aversion to closed spaces was by no means debilitating, but it had always frustrated him. It manifested itself in subtle ways. He avoided enclosed sports like racquetball or squash, and he had gladly paid a small fortune for his airy, high-ceilinged Victorian home even though economical faculty housing was readily available. Langdon often suspected his attraction to the art world as a young boy sprang from his love of museum's wide-open spaces.'**

Logan opened his eyes and immediately looked at Courtney, who was still rubbing her thumb across his knuckles. He smiled apologetically but she just shook her head with a small smile and gave his hand a slight squeeze.

**'The engines roared to life beneath him, sending a deep shudder through the hull. Langdon swallowed hard and waited. He felt the plane start taxiing. Piped-in country music began playing quietly overhead. A phone on the wall beside him beeped twice. Langdon lifted the receiver. "Hello?"**  
**"Comfortable, Mr. Langdon?"**  
**"Not at all."**  
**"Just relax. We'll be there in an hour."**  
**"And where exactly is there?" Langdon asked, realizing he had no idea where he was headed.**  
**"Geneva," the pilot replied, revving the engines. "The lab's in Geneva."**  
**"Geneva," Langdon repeated, feeling a little better. "Upstate New York. I've actually got family near Seneca Lake. I wasn't aware Geneva had a physics lab."**  
**The pilot laughed. "Not Geneva, New York, Mr. Langdon. Geneva, Switzerland."**  
**The word took a long moment to register. "Switzerland?" Langdon felt his pulse surge. "I thought you said the lab was only an hour away!"**  
**"It is, Mr. Langdon." The pilot chuckled. "This plane goes Mach fifteen."'**

"That's it," Carlos said.  
"Finally, no more plane," Logan said as Carlos handed the book to Mary-Grace.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: Chapter Five

AN: Same as before. Enjoy!

**'Five,'** Mary-Grace read.

**'On a busy European street, the killer serpentined through a crowd. He was a powerful man. Dark and potent. Deceptively agile. His muscles still felt hard from his meeting.**  
**It went well, he told himself. Although his employer had never revealed his face, the killer still felt honored to be in his presence. Had it really been only fifteen days since his employer had first made contact? The killer still remember every word of that call. . . "My name is Janus," the caller had said. "We are kinsman of a sort. We share an enemy. I hear your skills are for hire."**  
**"It depends whom you represent," the killer replied.**  
**The caller told him.**  
**"Is this your idea of a joke?"**  
**"You have heard our name, I see," the caller replied.**  
**"Of course. The brotherhood is legendary."**  
**"And yet you find yourself doubting I am genuine."**  
**"Everyone knows the brothers have faded to dust."**  
**"A devious ploy. The most dangerous enemy is that which no one fears."**  
**The killer was skeptical. "The brotherhood endures?"**  
**"Deeper underground than ever before.'**

"What?" Carlos asked.  
"It probably means they went into hiding," Kendall said.  
"Or that they literally went further underground," Logan said.  
"Huh?" everyone asked.  
"Well, think about it," Logan began. "What if their first hideout was in a shallow cave or a basement, and now their new hideout is even deeper than that."  
"But what can be deeper than a basement that is still on land?" James asked.  
"Caverns," Courtney said. "Dungeons. A lot of things."  
Robert and Vittoria looked at each other with wide eyes.

**'Our roots infiltrate everything you see. . . even the sacred fortress of our most sworn enemy."**  
**"Impossible. They are invulnerable."'**

"The Titanic was also supposedly unsinkable," Courtney said.

**'"Our reach is far."**  
**"No one's reach is that far."**  
**"Very soon, you will believe. An irrefutable demonstration of the brotherhood's power has already transpired. A single act of treachery and proof."**  
**"What have you done?"**  
**The caller told him.**  
**The killer's eyes went wide. "An impossible task."**  
**The next day, newspapers around the globe carried the same headline. The killer became a believer.**  
**Now, fifteen days later, the killer's faith has solidified beyond the shadow of a doubt. The brotherhood endures, he thought. Tonight they will surface to reveal their power.**  
**As he made his way through the streets, his black eyes gleamed with foreboding. One of the most covert and feared fraternities to ever walk the earth had called on him for service. They have chosen wisely, he thought. His reputation for secrecy was only exceeded by that of his deadliness.'**

"That sounds a little bit like Cour-," Carlos stopped in shock.

"What were you going to say?" Courtney whispered in his ear, an underlying steelness in her voice that told him that she was pissed.  
"I didn't hear you coming," Carlos said, trying to change the subject.  
Courtney, who had Carlos by a pressure point at the back of his neck, turned his head slowly toward where she was sitting and he saw her shoes there.  
"You took your shoes off," Carlos said.  
"Yes, I did," Courtney said, that steelness still in her voice.  
"Courtney," Logan said. "Do you really have to scare him like that?"  
Courtney looked at the back of Carlos's head for a moment. Then she said, "I think he learned his lesson." With that, she let go of the pressure point and walked back toward her seat.

**'So far, he had served them nobly. He had made his kill and delivered the item to Janus as requested. Now, it was up to Janus to use his power to ensure the item's placement.**  
**The placement. . .**  
**The killer wondered how Janus could possibly handle such a staggering task. The man obviously had connections on the inside. The brotherhood's dominion seemed limitless.**  
**Janus, the killer thought. A code name, obviously. Was it a reference, he wondered, to the Roman two-faced god. . . or to the moon of Saturn? Not that it made any difference. Janus wielded unfathomable power. He had proven that beyond a doubt.**  
**As the killer walked, he imagined his ancestors smiling down on him. Today he was fighting their battle, he was fighting the same enemy they had fought for ages, as far back as the eleventh century. . .when the enemy's crusading armies had first pillaged his land, raping and killing his people, declaring them unclean, defiling their temples and gods.**  
**His ancestors had formed a small but deadly army to defend themselves. The army became famous across the land as protectors-skilled executioners who wandered the countryside slaughtering any of the enemy they could find. They were renowned not only for their brutal killings, but also for celebrating their slayings by plunging themselves into drug-induced stupors. Their drug of choice was a potent intoxicant they called hashish.**  
**As their notoriety spread, these lethal men became known by a single word-Hassassin-literally "the followers of hashish." The name Hassassin became synonymous with death in almost every language on earth. The word was still used today, even in modern English. . .but like the craft of killing, the word had evolved.'**

"Assassin," Logan whispered, stupefied.  
"What?" everyone asked.  
He just shook his head.

**'It was now pronounced assassin.'**

"That's it," Mary-Grace said, stunned.  
"Here," Courtney said.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Chapter Six

AN: Same as before. Enjoy!

**'Six,'** Courtney read.

**'Sixty-four minutes had passed when an incredulous and slightly air sick Robert Langdon stepped down the gangplank onto the sun-drenched runway. A crisp breeze rustled the lapels of his tweed jacket. The open space felt wonderful. He squinted out at the lush green valley rising to snow capped peaks all around them.**  
**I'm dreaming, he told himself. Any minute now I'll be waking up.**  
**"Welcome to Switzerland," the pilot said, yelling over the roar of the X-33's misted-fuel HEDM engines winding down behind them. Langdon checked his watch. It read 7:07 A.M.**  
**"You just crossed six time zones," the pilot offered. "It's a little past 1 P.M. here."**  
**Langdon reset his watch.**  
**"How do you feel?"**  
**He rubbed his stomach. "Like I've been eating Styrofoam."**  
**The pilot nodded. "Altitude sickness. We were at sixty thousand feet. You're thirty percent lighter up there. Lucky we only did a puddle jump. If we'd gone to Tokyo I'd have taken her all the way up-a hundred miles. Now that'll get your insides rolling."**  
**Langdon gave a wan nod and counted himself lucky. All things considered, the flight had been remarkably ordinary. Aside from a bone-crushing acceleration during takeoff, the plane's motion had been fairly typical - occasional minor turbulence, a few pressure changes as they'd climbed, but nothing at all to suggest they had been hurtling through space at the mind-numbing speed of 11,000 miles per hour.'**

"Wow," everyone said.  
"If only a car could go that fast," Carlos said wistfully.

**'A handful of technicians scurried onto the runway to tend to the X-33. The pilot escorted Langdon to a black Peugeot sedan in a parking area beside the control tower. Moments later they were speeding down a paved road that stretched out across the valley floor. A faint cluster of buildings rose in the distance. Outside, the grassy plains tore by in a blur. Langdon watched in disbelief as the pilot pushed the speedometer up around 170 kilometers an hour - over 100 miles an hour. What is it with this guy and speed? he wondered.**  
**"Five kilometers to the lab," the pilot said. "I'll have you there in two minutes."**  
**Langdon searched in vain for a seatbelt. Why not make it three and get us there alive?**  
**The car raced on.**  
**"Do you like Reba?" the pilot asked, jamming a cassette into the tape deck.**  
**A woman started singing.'**

"Sing, Courtney," the teens said.  
"I can't, since I don't know the song," she responded before going back to reading.

**'"It's just the fear of being alone. . . "**  
**No fear here, Langdon thought absently. His female colleagues often ribbed him that his collection of museum-quality artifacts was nothing more than a transparent attempt to fill an empty home, a home they insisted would benefit greatly from the presence of a woman.'**

"I don't wanna work with women," Carlos said.  
The girls looked at him and said, "You already are, Carlitos."  
"Does that mean you don't wanna be with me anymore?" Rachel asked, looking about ready to cry. When she said this, Courtney, Kalyn, and Mary-Grace started glaring at Carlos, who started saying, "No, no, no. I didn't mean it like that. I-"  
"Stop before you dig yourself a bigger grave," Kendall whispered to him.  
"Okay," Carlos said.

**'Langdon always laughed it off, reminding he already had three loves in his life - symbology, water polo, and bachelorhood - the latter being a freedom that enabled him to travel the world, sleep as late as he wanted, and enjoy quiet nights at home with a brandy and a good book.**  
**"We're like a small city," the pilot said, pulling Langdon from his daydream. "Not just labs. We've got supermarkets, a hospital, even a cinema."**  
**Langdon nodded blankly and looked out at the sprawling expanse of buildings rising before them.**  
**"In fact," the pilot added, "we possess the largest machine on earth."**  
**"Really?" Langdon scanned the countryside.**  
**"You won't see it out there, sir." The pilot smiled. "It's buried six stories below the earth."**  
**Langdon didn't have time to ask. Without warning the pilot jammed on the brakes. The car skidded to a stop outside a reinforced sentry booth.**  
**Langdon read the sign before them. SECURITE. ARRETEZ. He suddenly felt a wave a panic, realizing where he was. "My God! I didn't bring my passport!"**  
**"Passport's are unnecessary," the driver assured. "We have a standing agreement with the Swiss government."**  
**Langdon watched dumbfounded as his driver gave the guard an ID. The sentry ran it through an electronic authentication device. The machine flashed green. "Passenger name?"**  
**"Robert Langdon," the driver replied.**  
**"Guest of?"**  
**"The director."**  
**The sentry arched his eyebrows. He turned and checked a computer printout, verifying it against the data on his computer screen. Then he returned to the window. "Enjoy your stay, Mr. Langdon."**  
**The car shot off again, accelerating anther 200 yards around a sweeping rotary that led to the facility's main entrance. Looming before them was a rectangular, ultramodern structure of glass and steel. Langdon was amazed by the building's striking transparent design. He always had a fond love of architecture.**  
**"The Glass Cathedral," the escort offered.'**

"A church?" the teens, Jennifer, Kelly, Mike, Sophie, Peter, and Gustavo asked.

**'"A church?"**  
**"H***, no. A church is the one thing don't have. Physics is the religion around here. Use the Lord's name in vain all you like," he laughed, "just don't slander any quarks or mesons."**  
**Langdon sat bewildered as the driver swung the car around and brought it to a stop in front of the glass building. Quarks and mesons? No border control? Mach 15 jets? Who the h*** ARE these guys? The engraved granite slab in front of the building bore the answer?**  
**(CERN)**  
**Conseil Europeen pour la**

** Recherche Nucleaire**

** "Nuclear research?" Langdon asked, fairly certain his translation was correct.**  
**The driver did not answer. He was leaning forward, busily adjusting the car's cassette player. "This is your stop. The director will meet you at this entrance."**  
**Langdon noted a man in a wheelchair exiting the building. He looked to be in his early sixties. Gaunt and totally bald with a sternly set jaw, he wore a lab coat and dress shoes propped firmly on the wheelchair's footrest. Even at a distance his eyes looked lifeless - like two gray stones.**  
**"Is that him?" Langdon asked.**  
**The driver looked up. "Well, I'll be." He turned and gave Langdon an omunious smile. "Speak of the devil."**  
**Uncertain what to expect, Langdon stepped from the vehicle.**  
**The man in the wheelchair accelerated toward Langdon'**

"Killer man in the wheelchair!" Carlos yelled. "Run for your lives!" He got up to run around, but he couldn't go far due to the fact that Rachel had a hold of the back of his shirt.  
"Sit down," she said.

**'and offered a clammy hand. "Mr. Langdon? We spoke on the phone. My name is Maximilian Kohler."'**

"That's it," Courtney said.

"I'm next," Kendall said, reaching for the book.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: Chapter Seven

AN: Same as before. Enjoy!

**'Seven,'** Kendall read.

**'Maximilian Kohler, director general of CERN, was known behind his back as Konig - King. It was a title more of fear than reverence for the figure who ruled over his dominion from a wheelchair throne. Although few knew him personally, the horrific story of how he had been crippled was lore at CERN, and there were few who blamed him for his bitterness. . .nor for his sworn dedication to pure science.**  
**Langdon had only been in Kohler's presence a few moments and already sensed the director was a man who kept his distance. Langdon found himself practically jogging to keep up with Kohler's electric wheelchair as it sped silently toward the main entrance. The wheelchair was like nothing Langdon had ever seen - equipped a bank of electronics including a multiline phone, a paging system, computer screen, even a small, detachable video camera. King Kohler's mobile command center. Langdon followed through a mechanical door into CERN's voluminous main lobby. The Glass Cathedral, Langdon mused, gazing upward toward heaven. Overhead, the bluish glass roof shimmered in the afternoon sun, casting rays of geometric patterns in the air and giving the room a sense of grandeur. Angular shadows fell like veins across the white tiled walls and down to the marble floors. The air smelled clean, sterile. A handful of scientists moved briskly about, their footsteps echoing in the resonant space.**  
**"This way, please, Mr. Langdon." His voice sounded almost computerized.'**

"How can a voice sound computerized?" James asked. Everyone shrugged.

**'His accent was rigid and precise, like his stern features. Kohler coughed and wiped his mouth on a white handkerchief as he fixed his dead grey eyes on Langdon. "Please hurry." His wheelchair seemed to leap across the tiled floor.**  
**Langdon followed past what seemed to be countless hallways branching off the main atrium. Every hallway was alive with activity. The scientists who saw Kohler seemed to stare in surprise, eyeing Langdon as if wondering who he must be to command such company.**  
**"I'm embarrassed to admit," Langdon ventured, trying to make conversation, "that I've never heard of CERN."**  
**"Not surprising," Kohler replied, his clipped tone sounding harshly efficient. "Most Americans do not see Europe as the world leader in scientific research. They see us as nothing but a quaint shopping district - an odd perception if you consider the nationalities of men like Einstein, Galileo, and Newton."**  
**Langdon was unsure how to respond. He pulled the fax from his pocket. "This man in the photograph, can you -"**  
**Kohler cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Please. Not here. I am taking you to him now." He held out his hand. "Perhaps I should take that."**  
**Langdon handed over the fax and fell silently into step.**  
**Kohler took a sharp left and entered a wide hallway adorned with awards and commendations. A particularly large plaque dominated the entry. Langdon slowed to read the engraved bronze as they passed.**

** ARS ELECTRONICA AWARD**

** For Cultural Innovation in the Digital Age**

** Awarded to Tim Berners Lee and CERN **

**for the invention of the**

**WORLDWIDE WEB'**

"Dang," everyone said.

**'Well I'll be d*****, Langdon thought, reading the text. This guy wasn't kidding. Langdon had always thought of the Web as an American invention.'**

"So did we," the teens said.

**'Then again, his knowledge was limited to the site for his own book and the occasion on-line exploration of the Louvre or El Pardo on his old Macintosh.'**

The teens looked at him and Rachel said, "When we have lunch, we are going to take you on the adventure of the Internet."  
"And you have no say as to whether or not you will go, because you are," Courtney said.

**'"The Web," Kohler said, coughing again and wiping his mouth, "began here as a network of in-house computer sites. It enabled scientists from different departments to share daily findings with one another. Of course, the entire world is under the impression the Web is U.S. technology."**  
**Langdon followed down the hall. "Why not set the record straight?"**  
**Kohler shrugged, apparently disinterested. "A petty misconception over a petty technology. CERN is far greater than a global technology of computers. Our scientists produce miracles almost daily."**  
**Langdon gave Kohler a questioning look. "Miracles?" The word "miracles" was certainly not part of the vocabulary around Harvard's Fairchild Science Building. Miracles were left for the School of Divinity.**  
**"You sound skeptical," Kohler said. "I thought you were a religious symbologist. Do you not believe in miracles?"**  
**"I'm undecided on miracles," Langdon said. Particularly those that take place in science labs.**  
**"Perhaps miracle is the wrong word. I was simply trying to speak your language."'**

"Your language?" everyone asked.

**'"My language?" Langdon was suddenly uncomfortable. "Not to disappoint you, sir, but I study religious symbology - I'm an academic, not a priest."**  
**Kohler slowed suddenly and turned, his gaze softening a bit. "Of course. How simple of me. One does not need to have cancer to analyze its symptoms."**  
**Langdon had never heard it put quite that way.**  
**As they moved down the hallway, Kohler gave an accepting nod. "I suspect you and I will understand each other perfectly, Mr. Langdon."**  
**Somehow Langdon doubted that.'**

"I'm hungry," Carlos said. Everyone else agreed.  
"How about we have lunch after Kendall is done with the chapter?" Jennifer asked.  
"Okay," Carlos said. "Kendall, how much do you have left?"  
"Two pages," he answered.  
"Hurry up."

**'As the pair hurried on, Langdon began to sense a deep rumbling up ahead. The noise got more and more pronounced with every step, reverberating through the walls. It seemed to be coming from the end of the hallway in front of them.**  
**"What's that?" Langdon finally asked, having to yell. He felt like they were approaching an active volcano.**  
**"Free fall tube," Kohler replied, his hollow voice cutting through the air effortlessly. He offered no other explanation.'**

The teens looked at Logan, who rolled his eyes and said, "Just because I'm the smart one doesn't mean I know everything."  
And with that, Kendall continued reading.

**'Langdon didn't ask. He was exhausted, and Maximilian Kohler seemed disinterested in winning any hospitality awards. Langdon reminded himself why he was here. Illuminati.'**

"What is the Illuminati?" Carlos, James, Kendall, Kalyn, Rachel, Katie, Jennifer, Kelly, and Gustavo asked.  
"It'll be explained in a little bit," Robert said.

**'He assumed somewhere in this colossal facility was a body. . .a body branded with with a symbol he had just flown 3,000 miles to see.**  
**As they approached the end of the hall, the rumble became almost deafening, vibrating up through Langdon's soles. They rounded the bend, and a viewing gallery appeared on the right. Four thick-paned portals were embedded in a curved wall, like windows in a submarine. Langdon stopped and looked through one of the holes.**  
**Professor Robert Langdon had seen some strange things in his life, but this was the strangest. He blinked a few times, wondering if he was hallucinating. He was staring into an enormous circular chamber. Inside the chamber, floating as though weightless, were people. Three of them. One waved and did a somersault in midair.'**

The teens said, "Oh!"  
"I wanna do that," Logan said, with agreement from Courtney, Mary-Grace, Rachel, Kalyn, Katie, and Carlos.  
"NO!" Kendall and James yelled.  
"Why not?" Logan asked.  
"You don't have to be in there unless you want to," Carlos said.  
Kendall just kept reading.

**'My God, he thought. I'm in the Land of Oz.**  
**The floor of the room was a mesh grid, like a giant sheet of chicken wire. Visible beneath the grid was the metallic blur of a huge propeller.**  
**"Free fall tube," Kohler said, stopping to wait for him. "Indoor skydiving. For stress relief.'**

"That's what we need," Carlos said, giving Gustavo and Kelly a pleading look. He was soon joined by Logan, Rachel, Kalyn, Courtney, and Mary-Grace. They were ignored, for the most part.

**'It's a vertical wind tunnel."**  
**Langdon looked on in amazement. One of the freefallers, an obese woman, maneuvered toward the window. She was being buffeted by the air currents but grinned and flashed Langdon the thumbs-up sign. Langdon smiled weakly and returned the gesture, wondering if she knew it was the ancient phallic symbol for masculine virility.'**

Logan was chuckling under his breath while looking at Kendall's, James's, and Carlos's faces.  
"You knew, didn't you?" Courtney's voice whispered in his ear, but instead of the steelness from when she did that to Carlos, it had a hint of laughter. Logan turned toward her and saw that she had a small smile on her face. He nodded.

**'The heavyset woman, Langdon noticed, was the only one wearing what appeared to be a miniature parachute. The swathe of fabric billowed over her like a toy. "What's her little chute for?" Langdon asked Kohler. "It can't be more than a yard in diameter."**  
**"Friction," Kohler said. "Decreases her aerodynamics so the fan can lift her." He started down the corridor again. "One square yard of drag will slow a falling body almost twenty percent."**  
**Langdon nodded blankly.**  
**He never suspected that later that night, in a country hundreds of miles away, the information would save his life.'**

"Don't tell me you're going to jump out of a helicopter where a bomb was placed," Logan said while taking the book Kendall handed him.  
"I'm not telling," was all Robert said before he motioned for Logan to read.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: Chapter Eight

AN: Same as before. Enjoy!  
AN2: If I don't get anymore reviews, I'm not posting anymore chapters.

**'Eight,'** Logan read.

"But I thought we were going to eat after Kendall got done?" Carlos interrupted.  
"Alright," Kelly said. "When we come back, we'll start reading again."  
"But first," Katie said, "we have to get James out of the duct tape."  
*2 hours later*  
When everyone got back to Mike's office, Logan started to read again.

**'When Kohler and Langdon emerged from the rear of CERN's main complex into the stark Swiss sunlight, Langdon felt as if he'd been transported home. The scene before him looked like an Ivy League campus.**  
**A grassy slope cascaded downward onto an expansive lowlands where clusters of sugar maples dotted quadrangles bordered by brick dormitories and footpaths. Scholarly looking individuals with stacks of books hustled in and out of buildings. As if to accentuate the collegiate atmosphere, two long-haired hippies hurled a Frisbee back and forth while enjoying Mahler's Fourth Symphony blaring from a dorm window. "These are out residential dorms," Kohler explained as he accelerated his wheelchair down the path toward the buildings. "We have over three thousand physicists here. CERN single-handedly employs more than half of the world's particle physicists - the brightest minds on earth - Germans, Japanese, Italians, Dutch, you name it. Our physicists represent over five hundred universities and sixty nationalities."'**

"D***," Courtney said.  
"Courtney!" Rachel said.  
"What? I said two cuss-words when I read."  
"Yeah but that's when you're reading."  
"Alright, I'll say them in alphabetical order, then. A**, a**hole, b****, no C's, d***, d***it, no E's, f***, g******it, h***, no I's -"  
"COURTNEY!" Rachel, Mary-Grace, Carlos, James, Katie, Jennifer, Kelly, and Gustavo yelled.  
"What?"  
"Do you have a very big vocabulary?" Peter asked.  
"Yeah, why?"  
"Spell supercalifragileisticespiali docious."  
"Alright. S-U-P-E-R-C-A-L-I-F-R-A-G-I-L-E-I-S-T-I-C-E-S-P-I-A-L-I-D-O-C-I-O-U-S."  
Silence. Then, Courtney said, "As you can tell, I read a lot when I'm bored."  
"Continuing," Logan simply said.

**'Langdon was amazed. "How do they all communicate?"**  
**"English, of course. The universal language of science."**  
**Langdon had always heard that math was the universal language of science, but he was too tired to argue. He dutifully followed Kohler down the path. Halfway to the bottom, a young man jogged by. His T-shirt proclaimed the message: NO GUT, NO GLORY!'**

"Isn't it supposed to be 'guts'?" James asked.

**'Langdon looked after him, mystified. "Gut?"**  
**"General Unified Theory," Kohler quipped. "The theory of everything."**  
**"I see," Langdon said, not seeing at all.**  
**"Are you familiar with particle physics, Mr. Langdon?"**  
**Langdon shrugged. "I'm familiar with general physics - falling bodies, that sort of thing." His years of high-diving experience had given him a profound respect for the awesome power of gravitational acceleration.'**

Kendall, James, and Carlos looked at Logan for their unasked question.  
Logan sighed and said, "The thing that makes stuff fall when you drop them."  
"Oh."

**'"Particle physics is the study of atoms, isn't it?"**  
**Kohler shook his head. "Atoms look like planets compared to what we deal with. Our interests lie with an atom's nucleus - a mere ten-thousandth the size of the whole." He coughed again, sounding sick. "The men and women of CERN are here to find answers to the same questions man has been asking since the beginning of time. Where did we come from? What are we made of?"**  
**"And these answers are in a physics lab?"**  
**"You sound surprised."**  
**"I am. The questions seem spiritual."**  
**"Mr. Langdon, all questions were once spiritual. Since the beginning of time, spirituality and religion have been called on to fill in the gaps that science did not understand. The rising and setting of the sun was once attributed to Helios and a flaming chariot. Earthquakes and tidal waves were the wrath of Poseidon. Science has proven those gods to be false idols. Soon all Gods will be proven to be false idols. Science has now provided answers to almost every question man can ask. There are only a few questions left, and they are the esoteric ones. Where do we come from? What are we doing here? What is the meaning of life and the universe?"**  
**Langdon was amazed. "And these are questions CERN is trying to answer?"**  
**"Correction. These are questions we are answering."**  
**Langdon fell silent as the two men wound through the residential quadrangles. As they walked, a Frisbee sailed overhead and skidded to a stop directly in front of them. Kohler ignored it and kept going.**  
**A voice called out from across the quad. "S'il vous plait!"**  
**Langdon looked over. An elderly white-haired man in a COLLEGE PARIS sweatshirt waved to him. Langdon picked up the Frisbee and expertly threw it back. The old man caught it on one finger and bounced it a few times whipping it over his shoulder to his partner. "Merci!" he called to Langdon. "Congratulations," Kohler said when Langdon finally caught up. "You just played toss with a Nobel-prize winner, Georges Charpak, inventer of the multiwire proportional chamber."'**

"The what?" everyone else but Logan and Robert asked.  
Logan was focused on something else. "Georges Charpak." He looked at Robert, "You played toss with the Georges Charpak?"  
"Apparently," he said simply.

**'Langdon nodded. My lucky day.**  
**It took Langdon and Kohler three more minuets to reach their destination - a large, well-kept dormitory sitting in a grove of aspens. Compared to the other dorms, this structure seemed luxurious. The carved stone sign in front read BUILDING C.**  
**Imaginative title, Langdon thought.**  
**But despite its sterile name, Building C appealed to Langdon's sense of architectural style - conservative and solid. It had a red brick façade, an ornate balustrade, and sat framed by sculpted symmetrical hedges. As the two men ascended the stone path toward the entry, they passed under a gateway formed by a pair of marble columns. Someone had put a sticky-note on one of them.**  
**THIS COLUMN IS IONIC.**  
**Physicist graffiti? Langdon mused, eyeing the column and chuckling to himself. "I'm relieved to see that even brilliant physicists make mistakes."'**

"This is gonna blow up in your face, isn't it?" Courtney asked.  
Robert didn't say anything.

**'Kohler looked over. "What do you mean?"**  
**"Whoever wrote that note made a mistake. That column isn't Ionic. Ionic columns are uniform in width. That one's tapered. It's Doric - the Greek counterpart. A common mistake."**  
**Kohler did not smile. "The author meant it as a joke, Mr. Langdon. Ionic means containing ions - electrically charged particles. Most objects contain them."**  
**Langdon looked back at the column and groaned.'**

"I was right," Courtney said.

**'Langdon was still feeling stupid when he stepped from the elevator on the top floor of Building C. He followed Kohler down a well-appointed corridor. The decor was unexpected - traditional colonial French - a cherry divan, porcelain floor vase, and scrolled woodwork.**  
**"We like to keep our tenured scientists comfortable," Kohler explained.**  
**Evidently, Langdon thought. "So the man in the fax lived up here? One of your upper-level employees?"**  
**"Quite," Kohler said. "He missed a meeting with me this morning and did not answer his page. I came up here to locate him and found him dead in his living room."'**

"Okay," Kendall said, "a normal person would have freaked out over the phone and at that moment. This guy shows no emotion what-so-ever. Was he the killer?"  
"He couldn't be," Courtney and Logan said.  
"And why not?" Kendall and James asked.  
"In the prologue," Courtney said, "it didn't say anything about a guy in a wheelchair. The first time we even heard about a wheelchair was when I read. And the murderer had to be from somewhere in Italy or Rome."  
"Why do you say that?" James asked.  
"La chiava means 'the key' which makes people understand 'key' for 'password'," Logan said. "Ne avevo paura means 'I was afraid' which ties in with that next sentence 'I was afraid of that' in reply to Vetra's response before that, which was 'There is no password'."  
"How do you two figure all of this up?" Sophie asked.  
"Well, for one, I have photographic memory," Courtney said.  
"And my mom was born and raised in Italy," Logan said, "so I learned that from her."  
"When he gets angry," Carlos said, "he will start talking in Italian, and we still don't have a clue what he's saying half the time."  
"Carlos, stai zitto o ti fare quello che Courtney ha fatto a lui," Logan said while nodding his head toward James.  
"All I understood was 'Carlos', 'Courtney', and something about James," Kendall said.  
"What I think he said," Katie said, " was 'Carlos, shut up or I will do what Courtney did to him.' Was I right?"  
"Yep," Logan said with a smile.

**'Langdon felt a sudden chill realizing that he was about to see a dead body. His stomach had never been particularly stalwart. It was a weakness he'd discovered as an art student when the teacher informed the class that Leonardo Da Vinci had gained his expertise in the human form by exhuming corpses and dissecting their musculature.**  
**Kohler led the way to the far end of the hallway. There was a single door.'**

"And behind that door was a beautiful rainbow," Carlos said, making everyone in the room worry about him again.

**'"The Penthouse, as you would say," Kohler announced, dabbing a bead of perspiration from his forehead.**  
**Langdon eyed the lone oak door before them. The name plate read:**  
**LEONARDO VETRA **

**"Leonardo Vetra," Kohler said, "would have been fifty-eight next week.'**

"Dannazione! Era troppo giovane per morire!" Logan said, and everyone could tell he was mad as h***.  
"Want me to read?" Courtney asked.  
He just shook his head and kept reading.

**'He was one of the most brilliant scientists of our time. His death is a profound loss for science."**  
**For an instant Langdon thought he sensed emotion in Kohler's hardened face. But as quickly as it had come, it was gone. Kohler reached in his pocket and began sifting through a large key ring.**  
**An odd thought suddenly occurred to Langdon. The building seemed deserted. "Where is everyone?" he asked. The lack of activity was hardly what he expected considering they were about to enter a murder scene.'**

"He didn't call the police?" everyone but Logan, Vittoria, and Robert asked.  
"The labs," Logan muttered.  
"What?" Courtney and Sophie asked, since they were the only ones who heard him due to the fact that they were sitting next to him.  
"His protecting the labs from inspection," Logan answered loud enough for everyone to hear. "There must be something in those labs that he wants to protect from the authorities, but what is it?"  
Everyone but Vittoria and Robert shrugged.

**'"The residents are in their labs," Kohler replied, finding the key.**  
**"I mean the police," Langdon clarified. "Have they left already?"**  
**Kohler paused, his key halfway into the lock. "Police?"**  
**Langdon's eyes met the director's.'**

"Did you see the look of a killer?" Kendall asked, gaining exasperated looks from Logan and Courtney.  
"What have we told you, Kendall?" Logan said, an Italian accent creeping into his voice.  
"It could have been him," Kendall stated. "I'm agreeing with James on what he said earlier. Apparently, he's a stalker who's after Mr. Langdon now since Vetra's dead."  
"Come puo un ragazzo sulla sedia a rotelle uccidere qualcuno?" Logan asked, full-on glaring at Kendall now.  
"Huh?" was his smart reply.  
"How could a guy in a wheelchair kill someone?" Vittoria translated.  
"Oh, uh," Kendall didn't say anything else.

**'"Police. You sent me a fax of a homicide. You must have called the police."**  
**"I most certainly have not."**  
**"What?"**  
**Kohler's gray eyes sharpened. "The situation is complex, Mr. Langdon."**  
**Langdon felt a wave of apprehension. "But. . .certainly someone else knows about this!"**  
**"Yes. Leonardo's adopted daughter. She is also a physicist here at CERN. She and her father share a lab. They are partners. Ms. Vetra has been away this week doing field research. I have notified her of her father's death, and she is returning as we speak."**  
**"But a man has been murd-"**  
**"A formal investigation," Kohler said, his voice firm, "will take place. However, it will most certainly involve a search of Vetra's lab, a space he and his daughter hold most private. Therefore, it will wait until Ms. Vetra has arrived. I feel I owe her at least that modicum of discretion."**  
**Kohler turned the key.**  
**As the door swung open, a blast of icy air hissed into the hall and hit Langdon in the face. He fell back in bewilderment. He was gazing across the threshold of an alien world. The flat before him was immersed in a thick, white fog. The mist swirled in smoky vortexes around the furniture and shrouded the room in opaque haze.**  
**"What the. . .?" Langdon stammered.**  
**"Freon cooling system," Kohler replied. "I chilled the flat to preserve the body."**  
**Langdon buttoned his tweed jacket against the cold. I'm in Oz, he thought. And I forgot my magic slippers.'**

Everyone's lips twitched, but they didn't laugh due to what was bound to come up in the next chapter.  
"That's it," Logan said, waving the book in the air for someone to get.  
"I'm next," Sophie said.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve: Chapter Nine

AN: Same as before. Enjoy! I also have two polls up, for any of you who would like to decide what goes on in this story.  
AN2: Since some of my reviewers from my past story are being kind and are reading this, I'll post this one up, just for them.

**'Nine,'** Sophie read.

**'The corpse on the floor before Langdon was hideous. The late Leonardo Vetra lay on his back, stripped naked, his skin bluish-gray. His neck bones were jutting out where they had been broken, and his head was twisted completely backward, pointing the wrong way. His face was out of view, pressed against the floor. The man lay in a frozen puddle of his own urine, the hair around his shriveled genitals spidered with frost.'**

_"Disgustoso. Devi essere segnati a vita, perche io so di essere_," Logan said, shuddering at the mental image that the paragraph produced.  
"Whaa?" everyone but Vittoria said.  
"He said, 'Disgusting. You must be scarred for life, because I know I am," Vittoria translated.

**'Fighting a wave of nausea,'**

"Don't worry," Carlos said, " we're fighting that wave, too."

**'Langdon let his eyes fall to the victim's chest. Although Langdon had stared at the symmetrical wound a dozen times on the fax, the burn was infinitely more commanding in real life. The raised, broiled flesh was perfectly delineated. . .the symbol flawlessly formed.**  
**Langdon wondered if the intense chill now raking through his body was the air-conditioning or his utter amazement with the significance of what he was now staring at.'**

"Is that supposed to be 'Illuminati'?" Sophie asked Logan.  
Logan looked at it and said, "Yeah."

**'His heart pounded as he circled the body, reading the word upside down, reaffirming the genius of the symmetry. The symbol seemed even less conceivable now that he was staring at it.**  
**"Mr. Langdon?"**  
**Langdon did not hear.'**

"Do you think what I'm thinking?" Carlos said.  
"That he's probably just ignoring him like Logan does sometimes?" the teens but Logan asked.  
"I'm right here," Logan said.  
"You do get like that sometimes," Courtney said. "Granted, it's only when you're trying to think of a way to save their a**** from either Bitters or Gustavo."  
"I do not."  
"Logan."  
"Fine."  
"Whipped," the teens but Logan and Courtney stage-whispered.  
Jennifer was about to say something when she caught the look in Courtney's eyes. She had that innocent look on her face, but her eyes promised retribution. So, Jennifer decided to stay out of it and let Courtney take care of it in her own way.  
"Hey, Logan?" Courtney said.  
"Yeah?"  
"Do you know where my pocket knife is?"  
"You left it at the apartment because of the metal detectors."  
"D***." She pouted for a little bit, but then that smile crept back onto her face. "Mr. Holt?"  
"Yes, Ms. Davis?"  
"Do you by chance have a letter opener?"  
At this point, the teens had a look of horror on their faces. Jennifer decided to step in.  
"Courtney," she said warningly.  
Courtney looked over at the other teens, saw that they looked terrified, and said, "Alright."  
"She can be brutal when she wants to be, can't she?" Peter asked Gustavo, who was sitting between him and Robert.  
Gustavo just stayed silent and nodded.

**'He was in another world. . .his world, his element, a world where history, myth, and fact collided, flooding his senses. The gears turned.**  
**"Mr. Langdon?" Kohler's eyes probed expectantly.**  
**Langdon did not look up. His disposition now intensified, his focus total. "How much do you already know?"**  
**"Only what I had time to read on your website. The word Illuminati means 'the enlightened ones.' It is the name of some sort of ancient brotherhood."'**

The teens looked at Logan. He sighed. "What?"  
"Is that the actual translation?" Kendall asked.  
"Not really no."  
"What do you mean by that?" James asked.  
"I mean, I wouldn't say it's not a word, but it really doesn't have a translation."  
"Meaning?" Carlos asked.  
"Meaning we got the word Illuminati from the Italians," Courtney said. "Same thing with pizza, spaghetti, and lasagna."  
"Oh."

**'Langdon nodded. "Had you heard the name before?"**  
**"Not until I saw it branded on Mr. Vetra."**  
**"So you ran a Web search for it?"**  
**"Yes."**  
**"And the word turned out hundreds of references, no doubt."**  
**"Thousands," Kohler said. "Yours, however, contained references to Harvard, Oxford, a reputable publisher, as well as a list of related publications. As a scientist I have come to learn that information is only as valuable as its source. Your credentials seemed authentic."**  
**Langdon's eyes were still riveted on the body.**  
**Kohler said nothing more. He simply stared, apparently waiting for Langdon to shed some light on the scene before them.**  
**Langdon looked up, glancing around the frozen flat. "Perhaps we should discuss this in a warmer place?"**  
**"This room is fine." Kohler seemed oblivious to the cold. "We'll talk here."**  
**Langdon frowned. The Illuminati was by no means a simple one. I'll freeze to death trying to explain it. He gazed again at the brand, feeling a renewed sense of awe.**  
**Although accounts of the Illuminati emblem were legendary in modern symbology, no academic had ever actually seen it. Ancient documents described the symbol as an ambigram - ambi meaning "both" - signifying it was legible both ways. And although ambigrams were common in symbology - swastikas, yin yang, Jewish stars, simple crossed - the idea that a word could be crafted into an ambigram seemed utterly impossible. Modern symbologists had tried for years to forge the word "Illuminati" into a perfectly symmetrical style, but they had failed miserably. Most academics had now decided the symbol's existence was a myth.**  
**"So who are the Illuminati?" Kohler demanded. Yes, Langdon thought, who indeed? He began his tale.**  
**"Since the beginning of history," Langdon explained, "a deep rift has existed between science and religion. Outspoken scientists like Copernicus -"**  
**"Were murdered," Kohler interjected. "Murdered by the church for revealing scientific truths. Religion has always persecuted science."**  
**"Yes. But in the 1500s, a group of men in Rome fought back against the church. Some of Italy's most enlightened men - physicists, mathematicians, astronomers - began meeting secretly to share their concerns about the church's inaccurate teachings. They feared that the church's monopoly on 'truth' threatened academic enlightenment around the world. They founded the world's first scientific think tank, calling themselves 'the enlightened ones.'"**  
**"The Illuminati."**  
**"Yes," Langdon said. "Europe's most learned minds. . .dedicated to the quest for scientific truth."**  
**Kohler fell silent.**  
**"Of course, the Illuminati were hunted ruthlessly by the Catholic Church. Only through rites of extreme secrecy did the scientists remain safe. Word spread through the academic underground, and the Illuminati brotherhood grew to include academics from all over Europe. The scientists met regularly in Rome at an ultrasecret lair they called the Chuch of Illumination."**  
**Kohler coughed and shifted in his chair.**  
**"Many of the Illuminati," Langdon continued, "wanted to combat the church's tyranny with acts of violence, but their most revered member persuaded them against it. He was a pacifist, as well as one of history's most famous scientists."**  
**Langdon was certain Kohler would recognize the name.'**

"Galileo?" Logan asked.  
"How...?" Robert said, wondering if this kid's mother produced a brain-child.  
"When he presented the theory that the earth revolved around the sun," Logan said, "he was put under house arrest by the church, who believed that the other way around was correct."  
"Most teenagers don't even recognize the name," Peter said, "let alone the reason."  
"He's Italian," Logan said. "When I asked my mom about him, I thought he was my ancestor or something, but we'll never know because we have nothing to compare DNA to."

**'Even nonscientists were familiar with the ill-fated astronomer who had been arrested and almost executed by the church for proclaiming that the sun, and not the earth, was the center of the solar system. Although his data were incontrovertible, the astronomer was severely punished for implying that God had placed mankind somewhere other than at the center of His universe.**  
**"His name was Galileo Galilei," Langdon said.**  
**Kohler looked up. "Galileo?"**  
**"Yes. Galileo was an Illuminatus. And he was also a devout Catholic. He tried to soften the church's position on science by proclaiming that science did not undermine the existence of God, but rather reinforced it. He wrote once that when he looked through his telescope at the spinning planets, he could hear God's voice in the music of the spheres. He held that science and religion were not enemies, but rather allies - two different languages telling the same story, a story of symmetry and balance. . .heaven and hell, night and day, hot and cold, God and Satan. Both science and religion rejoiced in God's symmetry. . .the endless contest of light and dark." Langdon paused, stomping his feet to stay warm.**  
**Kohler simply sat in his wheelchair and stared.**  
**"Unfortunately," Langdon added, "the unification of science and religion was not what the church wanted."**  
**"Of course not," Kohler interrupted. "The union would have nullified the church's claim as the sole vessel through which man could understand God. So the church tried Galileo as a heretic, found him guilty, and put him under permanent house arrest. I am quite aware of scientific history, Mr. Langdon. But this was all centuries ago. What does this have to Leonardo Vetra?"**  
**The million dollar question. Langdon cut to the chase. "Galileo's arrest threw the Illuminati into upheaval. Mistakes were made, and the church discovered the identities of four members, whom they captured and interrogated. But the four scientists revealed nothing. . .even under torture."'**

"Torture?"

**'"Torture?"**  
**Langdon nodded. "They were branded alive. On the chest. With the symbol of the cross."**  
**Kohler's eyes widened, and he shot an uneasy glance at Vetra's body.**  
**"Then the scientists were brutally murdered, their dead bodies dropped in the streets of Rome as a warning to others thinking of joining the Illuminati. With the church closing in, the remaining Illuminati fled Italy."**  
**Langdon paused to make his point. He looked directly into Kohler's dead eyes. "The Illuminati went deep underground, where they began mixing with other refugee groups fleeing the Catholic purges - mystics, alchemists, occultists, Muslims, Jews. Over the years, the Illuminati began absorbing new members. A new Illuminati emerged. A darker Illuminati. A deeply anti-Christian Illuminati. They grew very powerful, employing mysterious rites, deadly secrecy, vowing someday to rise again and take revenge on the Catholic Church. Their power grew to the point where the church considered them the single most dangerous anit-Christian force on earth. The Vatican denounced the brotherhood as Shaitan."'**

"Satan," Logan stated.  
"Whaa?" everyone but Robert and Peter asked.  
Logan nodded to Sophie to keep reading.

**'"Shaitan?"**  
**"It's Islāmic. It means 'adversary'. . .God's adversary. The church chose Islam for the name because it was a language they considered dirty." Langdon hesitated. "Shaitan is the root of an English word. . .Satan."**  
**An uneasiness crossed Kohler's face.**  
**Langdon's voice was grim. "Mr. Kohler, I do not know how this marking appeared on this man's chest. . .or why. . .but you are looking at the long-lost symbol of the world's oldest and most powerful satanic cult."'**

"That's it," Sophie said. When she said that, Logan's phone rang. He looked at the caller ID before answering it.  
_"Ehi, mamma, come stai?"_ Silence, then Logan frowned and he said, _"Perche avere il suo telefono, se si suppone di essere al lavoro, papa?"_  
He stood up. _"Hai ucciso lei, non e vero?"_  
Silence again. Logan's eyes got teary as he said, _"No mentirmi figlio di una cagna!"_  
He hung up, sat down again, and buried his head in his hands.  
Vittoria's lip trembled as she translated in a whisper that carried across the room. Courtney immediately hugged Logan as he tried to stop himself from crying.  
"I think that will be it for today," Mike said quietly. Everyone agreed.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen AN: Same as before! This is a kind of filler chapter. Sorry if it sucks. Enjoy! I do not own 'Once Upon a December' from the animated movie Anastasia.  
emolovergrrawesome - Thank you and I just did. LOL!

"Where are we staying?" Gustavo asked while looking at Logan. According to Vittoria, his dad murdered his mom. Or, at least, that's what Logan suspects.  
"You could stay at my place," Robert said, "if they -" he pointed at James, Kendall, Carlos, and Logan " - could share one room and they -" he pointed at Kalyn, Mary-Grace, Rachel, and Courtney " - share another. Maybe Jennifer and Katie could share one, too." He looked at Peter, Vittoria, and Sophie. "I still have no room for the rest of you."  
"It's fine," Peter said, "I have a penthouse suite that I booked when I was called here, and it has two extra rooms."  
"Thank you, so much, Mr. Langdon," Jennifer said while standing and looking at Logan worriedly.  
Logan's phone rang again. But this time, he only looked at it before he handed it to Courtney, who answered it immediately.  
"Hello, Mr. Mitchell," she said into the I-Phone sweetly. Then, she looked at Logan before walking away to a corner of the room far away from him and, judging from the color her face was getting, she was telling him off but she wasn't yelling at all. Mike finally realised what the post script meant when he saw that the teens, except Logan, and Gustavo, Kelly, and Jennifer were starting to get a little scared.  
"Um," Mike said, "why are you. . .um?"  
"She's whispering," Kelly said.  
"So?"  
"When she's whispering," James said, "that means she's royally p***** off and that whoever p***** her off should watch their backs for now on."  
"Or?" Sophie asked.  
"They end up seriously hurt for some unknown reason," Kendall said.  
"I'm right here, you know," Courtney's voice came from behind Kendall and James, who jumped about a foot into the air and screaming like little girls. Somehow, James ended up in Peter's arms and Kendall ended up in Mike's arms.  
"I thought you were -?" James started to ask, but Courtney pointed toward the corner she was previously in, and they saw Logan talking furiously into the phone, his face becoming redder by the second.  
"He's about to blow," Kendall said.  
"What does -?" Robert asked.  
"It means he's about to start crossing English with Italian," Katie answered, who was closer to where Logan was than the other people in the room. "Right now, he's starting to do that."  
"I think we should go ahead and go to my house," Robert suggested when he saw Logan restraining himself from punching the wall.  
"I think that would be a good idea," Gustavo said.  
"I'll go get him," Katie said. She turned and walked to Logan, who was still talking on the phone, and she thinks she got there just in time to stop him from throwing his phone at the wall.  
She mouthed "We're about to go" to him when he glanced at her. He nodded and abruptly ended the call.  
"You ok?" she asked when his face started to back to its normal color. He took a few calming breaths and nodded.  
"Can we get down now?" James and Kendall shouted, causing Logan and Katie to look over at them. Logan smirked a little bit and said, "No. They're going to carry you outside."  
Let's just say James and Kendall were dropped unceremoniously and unsuspectedly. They were surprised and didn't get their feet under them so they could obviously stand. This caused a lot of laughter.  
*4 hours later*  
When everyone that was staying at Robert's house was settled and Peter, Vittoria, and Sophie were heading to Peter's penthouse suite, Logan started to explore the house while everyone else was talking in the kitchen. He was thankful that Robert had claustrophobia, too, oddly enough. He was still on the ground floor when he came across a door that was slightly ajar. He looked around, then nudged enough so that the light from the hallway could illuminate the room on the other side. He immediately fell in love with it.  
Books, and lots of them. Logan stepped in and turned on a lamp before going back to shut the door. He wanted to be alone for a little bit. As he browsed the shelves, he knew his mom would've loved the place and everyone in it. He thought back to when he and his friends would get scared because of a storm, especially in December. She would sing 'Once Upon a December' from the movie Anastasia. Ever since then, the song kind of became a soothing thing for all four of them. He started humming it:  
_Dancing bears, painted wings _

_Things I almost remember_

_ And a song someone sings_

_ Once upon a December_

_ Someone holds me safe and warm_

_ Horses prance through a silver storm_

_ Figures dancing gracefully, across my memory_

_ Someone holds me safe and warm _

_Horses prance through a silver storm _

_Figures dancing gracefully, across my memory _

_Far away, long ago _

_Glowing dim as an ember _

_Things my heart used to know _

_Things it yearns to remember_

_ And a song someone sings _

_Once upon a December._  
"Sounds good," he heard Robert say from the doorway. He whipped around and saw that it was indeed Robert, leaning against the doorjam.  
"I don't recognize it," Robert continued as he walked towards the window on the other side of the room.  
"It was something that my mom used to sing to me and the guys when we would get scared," Logan said, surprised at himself for actually saying that to practically a stranger.  
"What's it called?"  
"'Once Upon a December' from the movie Anastasia."  
"Do you know why she chose that song?"  
Logan shrugged. He wanted to be alone right now.  
"Can you sing it?" Robert asked, turning away from the window to look at Logan. Logan looked into his eyes for some kind of emotion, but all he got was curiosity and concern.  
Logan nodded and began. He sang softly at first, but, like his mom did, he got a little bit louder towards the end, before going back to soft. He had his eyes closed, so he didn't see everyone else outside the doorway, or Robert wave them off.  
When he opened his eyes again, Robert said, "You know, it's alright to show your emotions. Don't keep things bottled up inside. I noticed that when you were talking on the phone to your dad, you looked like you wanted to hurt him, kill him, whatever it took to make him feel your pain."  
"How do you know?" Logan was looking at the books again, trying not to think about it.  
"I'm really good at reading facial expressions, emotions, whatever you want to call them, however hard you try to hide them." He was standing a few feet away from Logan. "You grew up hiding the hurt from your friends, family, anyone who knew you well, and I can see that pain is older than a few hours. I would say about eight years at the most."  
Logan froze, but tried to hide it. He can't have known. Yes, Logan told his friends, but they don't know that that incident still hurts every single day.  
"What happened to cause that kind of pain in an eight year old, innocent boy?" Robert asked.  
Logan swallowed and said, "The song my mom used to sing," he looked at Robert here. He nodded. "She used to sing that to my little sister, Katie."  
Robert was shocked. He looked up everything he could on the band, and found out that Kendall had a little sister, not the other three. Her name was Katie. But something told him that that wasn't the same Katie that Logan was talking about. He could tell that Logan was uncomfortable, but he could also tell that something happened with his Katie that made him into the young man before him. "What happened?"  
Logan took a deep breath and said, "I was eight, she was three, and we were riding our bikes up and down the sidewalk. We were living in Texas at the time. Katie was deaf in her right ear, and I was supposed to keep an eye on her. She was crossing a driveway just as the owners of that house was pulling in, and she didn't hear it coming. Then -" He stopped talking, closed his eyes, tried to stop the tears from flowing, and tried to take calming breathes.  
Robert's voice was barely heard as he said, "She died in your arms, didn't she?"  
The look he got resembled that of someone who's heart was ripped out at a young age, stomped on, put back in, and ripped out again years later. Robert walked forward until he had Logan in a hug. "Just let it out, Logan. Just let it out."  
And Logan did just that. Robert led Logan towards the window, where a seat was attached to the sill. He sat the both of them down as he comforted Logan.  
After about thirty minutes, James came in and said quietly, "He's asleep."  
Robert looked down and saw that Logan was indeed asleep. He was about to get up and carry Logan to his bedroom when James said, "I've got him."  
James picked Logan up bridal style and walked out of the room with Robert following behind. He didn't know when it happened, but he was now protective of the young man being carried to bed.  
When they got to the bedroom that the four guys were going to be sharing, he noticed that Kendall and Carlos were standing by a bed that already had the covers turned down. Good thing they were already in their pajamas, or this could be a little awkward.  
"Thanks," they whispered when they got Logan settled into the bed.  
"Welcome," he whispered back as he walked toward his own room.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Chapter 10

AN: I still don't own the Robert Langdon series or Big Time Rush. All I own is my laptop and my characters.

*In the morning*

Jennifer got up and noticed that it was eight o'clock. She saw that Katie was already up, so decided to wake up the boys first. She walked down the second floor hallway to their door, opened it, and looked in.  
As she expected, they were still asleep. She walked to where Kendall was sleeping and shook his shoulder. "Kendall, wake up."  
She saw him open his eyes a fraction, but then he fell back to sleep. "Kendall Francis Knight, get your butt up," she whispered.  
He lifted his head and said, "Why?"  
"It's time to get up. Now get dressed," was her answer as she walked across the room to Carlos. What happened here was the same as with Kendall. Then, it was Logan's turn. Jennifer knew that contrary to popular belief, Logan sleeps like the dead. If you put your phone next to his ear, with the volume full blast, and ask someone to text you, he still wouldn't wake up. She came up with a plan.  
She walked back across the room to Logan, whose bed was beside Kendall's. "Logan." No response. Jennifer smirked. She gripped a part of the cover and yanked it away from Logan. He groaned and started searching for it.  
"Logan, wake up," she said as she started tickling him. He started to push her hands away and try to get away from them, which resulted with him eventually falling off the bed. Well, he was awake now, and, surprisingly, so was James.  
"When everyone is ready, come down to the kitchen," was what she said as she walked out the door.  
*2 hours later*  
Everyone was back in Mike's office, where a fire was roaring in a fireplace they didn't notice before.  
"So," Mike said, "who's next?"  
"I am," Vittoria said as Gustavo handed her the book.  
**'Ten,'** Vittoria read.

**'The alley was narrow and deserted. The Hassassin strode quickly now, his black eyes filling with anticipation. As he approached his destination, Janus's parting words echoed in his mind.** _**Phase two begins shortly. Get some rest.**_  
**The Hassassin smirked. He had been awake all night, but sleep was the last thing on his mind. Sleep was for the weak. He was a warrior like his ancestors before him, and his people never slept once a battle had begun. This battle had most definitely begun, and he had been given the honor of spilling first blood. Now he had two hours to celebrate his glory before going back to work.**  
_**Sleep? There are far better ways to relax. . .**_  
**An appetite for hedonistic pleasure was something bred into him by his ancestors. His ascendants had indulged in hashish, but he preferred a different kind of gratification. He took pride in his body - a well-tuned, lethal machine, which, despite his heritage, he refused to pollute with narcotics. He had developed a more nourishing addiction than drugs. . .a far more healthy and satisfying reward.'**

Logan's face twisted into one of disgust as he figured out what the assassin was talking about.  
"Logan," Kendall asked, since he was sitting next to him, "are you okay?"  
Logan whispered something in his ear and he went pale.  
"NASTY!" he yelled, shocking everyone into wondering what the brainiac said.  
"THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT!" Logan yelled back.  
"Do we want to know?" Carlos asked.  
"NO!" the two yelled together.  
"Is it," Courtney asked, whispering the rest into Logan's ear. He nodded and she shuddered.  
"Just tell us already," James said.  
"You do not want to know," Courtney said, nodding to Vittoria to keep going.

**'Feeling a familiar anticipation swelling within him, the Hassassin moved faster down the alley. He arrived at a nondescript door and rang the bell. A view slit in the door opened, and two soft eyes studied him appraisingly. Then the door swung open.**  
**"Welcome," the well-dressed woman said. She ushered him into an impeccably furnished sitting room where the lights were low. The air was laced with expensive perfume and musk. "Whenever you are ready." She handed him a book of photographs. "Ring me when you have made your choice." Then she disappeared.**  
**The Hassassin smiled. As he sat on the plush divan and positioned the photo album on his lap, he felt a carnal hunger stir. Although his people did not celebrate Christmas, he imagined that this is what it must feel like to be a Christian child, sitting before a stack of Christmas presents, about to discover the miracles inside. He opened the album and examined the photos.'**

Vittoria paused, scanning the rest of the chapter before she said, "Jennifer, you might want to cover Katie's ears for the rest of this chapter."  
As Jennifer did that, Logan, Kendall, Courtney, and Mary-Grace covered Carlos's, James's, Rachel's, and Kalyn's ears and said to the questioning stares, "We are more mature than them."

**'A lifetime of sexual fantasies stared back at him.**  
_**Marisa.**_ **An Italian goddess. Fiery. A young Sophia Loren.**  
_**Sachiko.** _**A Japanese geisha. Lithe. No doubt skilled.**  
_**Kanara.**_ **A stunning black vision. Muscular. Exotic.**  
**He examined the entire album twice and made his choice. He pressed a button on the table beside him. A minute later the woman who had greeted him reappeared. He indicated his selection. She smiled. "Follow me."**  
**After handling the financial arrangements, the woman made a hushed phone call. She waited a few minutes and then led him up a winding marble staircase to a luxurious hallway. "It's the gold door on the end," she said. "You have expensive taste."**  
**I should, he thought. I am a connoisseur.**  
**The Hassassin padded the length of the hallway like a panther anticipating a long overdue meal. When he reached the doorway he smiled to himself. It was already ajar. . .welcoming him in. He pushed, and the door swung noiselessly open.**  
**When he saw his selection, he knew he had chosen well. She was exactly as he had requested. . .nude, lying on her back, her arms tied to the bedposts with thick velvet cords.**  
**He crossed the room and ran a dark finger across her ivory abdomen.** _**I killed last night,**_ **he thought.** _**You are my reward.'**_

_"Disgustoso,"_ Logan shuddered as he let go of Carlos's ears after he asked Vittoria if the chapter was over.  
When Jennifer let go of Katie's ears, Vittoria handed her the book.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Chapter 11

AN: Same as before. Enjoy!

**'Eleven,'** Jennifer read.

**'"Satanic?" Kohler wiped his mouth and shifted uncomfortably. "This is a symbol of a _satanic_ cult?"**  
**Langdon paced the frozen room to keep warm. "The Illuminati were satanic. But not in the modern sense."**  
**Langdon quickly explained how most people pictured satanic cults as devil-worshipping fiends, and yet Satanists historically were educated men who stood as adversaries to the church. Shaitan. The rumors of satanic black-magic animal sacrifices and the pentagram ritual were nothing but lies spread by the church as a smear campaign against their adversaries. Over time, opponents of the church, wanting to emulate the Illuminati, began believing the lies and acting them out. Thus, modern Satanism was born. Kohler grunted abruptly. "This is all ancient history. I want to know how this symbol got _here_."**  
**Langdon took a deep breath. "The symbol itself was created by an anonymous sixteenth-century Illuminati artist as a tribute to Galileo's love of symmetry - a kind of sacred Illuminati logo. The brotherhood kept the design secret, allegedly planning to reveal only when they had amassed enough power to resurface and carry out their final goal."'**

"And that would be what exactly?" Kendall asked.  
Logan bit his lip and then said, "World government."  
Silence, and Jennifer took that as her cue to keep going.

**'Kohler looked unsettled. "So this symbol means the Illuminati brotherhood is resurfacing?"**  
**Langdon frowned. "That would be impossible. There is one chapter of the Illuminati history that I have not yet explained."**  
**Kohler's voice intensified. "Enlighten me."**  
**Langdon rubbed his palms together, mentally sorting through the hundreds of documents he'd read or written on the Illuminati. "The Illuminati were survivors," he explained. "When they fled Rome, they traveled across Europe looking for a safe place to regroup. They were taken in by another secret society. . .a brotherhood of wealthy Bavarian stone craftsmen called the Freemasons."**  
**Kohler looked startled. "The Masons?"**  
**Langdon nodded, not at all surprised that Kohler had heard of the group. The brotherhood of the Masons currently had over five million members worldwide, half of them in the United States, and over one million of them in Europe.'**

"Wow," everyone but Robert and Peter said.

**'"Certainly the Masons are not satanic," Kohler declared, sounding suddenly skeptical. "Absolutely not. The Masons fell victim to their own benevolence. After harboring the fleeing scientists in the 1700s, the Masons unknowingly became a front for the Illuminati. The Illuminati grew within their ranks, gradually taking over positions of power within the lodges. They quietly reestablished their scientific brotherhood deep within the Masons - a kind of secret society within a secret society. Then the Illuminati used the worldwide connection of Masonic lodges to spread their influence."**  
**Langdon drew a cold breath before racing on. "Obliteration of Catholicism was the Illuminati's central covenant. The brotherhood held that the superstitious dogma spewed forth by the church was mankind's greatest enemy. They feared that if religion continued to promote pious myth as absolute fact, scientific progress would halt, and mankind would be doomed to an ignorant future of senseless holy wars."**  
**"Much like we see today."**  
**Langdon frowned. Kohler was right. Holy wars were still making headlines._ My God is better than your God._ It seemed there was always close correlation between true believers and high body counts.**  
**"Go on," Kohler said.**  
**Langdon gathered his thoughts and continued. "The Illuminati grew more powerful in Europe and set their sights on America, a fledgling government many of whose leaders were Masons - George Washington, Ben Franklin - honest, God-fearing men who were unaware of the Illuminati stronghold on the Masons. The Illuminati took advantage of the infiltration and helped found banks, universities, and industry to finance their ultimate quest." Langdon paused. "The creation of a single unified world state - a kind of secular New World Order."'**

"I thought you didn't like history?" James asked Logan.  
"Do you remember that report on secret societies that we had to do two months ago?" Logan responded.  
"A little, why?"  
"We did ours on the Illuminati, mostly because you three thought it was a cool name."  
"Oh."

**'Kohler did not move.**  
**"A New World Order," Langdon repeated, "based on scientific enlightenment. They called it their Luciferian Doctrine. The church claimed Lucifer was a reference to the devil, but the brotherhood insisted Lucifer was intended in its literal Latin meaning - _bringer of light_. Or _Illuminator_."**  
**Kohler sighed, and his voice grew suddenly solemn. "Mr. Langdon, please sit down."**  
**Langdon sat tentatively on a frost-covered chair.**  
**Kohler moved his wheelchair closer. "I am not sure I understand this. Leonardo Vetra was one of CERN's greatest assets. He was also a friend. I need you to help me locate the Illuminati."**  
**Langdon didn't know how to respond. "Locate the Illuminati?" _He's kidding, right?_ "I'm afraid, sir, that will be utterly impossible."**  
**Kohler's brow creased. "What do you mean? You won't -"**  
**"Mr. Kohler." Langdon leaned toward his host, uncertain how to make him understand what he was about to say. "I did not finish my story. Despite appearances, it is extremely unlikely that this brand was put here by the Illuminati. There has been no evidence of their existence for over half a century, and most scholars agree the Illuminati have been defunct for many years."**  
**The words hit silence. Kohler stared through the fog with a look somewhere between stupefaction and anger. "How the h*** can you tell me this group is extinct when their name is seared into this man!"'**

"He has a point," Courtney said, "somewhat."

**'Langdon had been asking himself that question all morning. The appearance of the Illuminati ambigram was astonishing. Symbologists worldwide would be dazzled. And yet, the academic in Langdon understood that the brand's reemergence proved absolutely nothing about the Illuminati.**  
**"Symbols," Langdon said, "in no way confirm the presence of their original creators."**  
**"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"**  
**"It means that when organized philosophies like the Illuminati go out of existence, their symbols remain. . .available for adoption by other groups. It's called _transference._ It's very common in symbology. The Nazi's took the swastika from the Hindus, the Christians adopted the cruciform from the Egyptians, the -"**  
**"This morning," Kohler challenged, "when I typed the word 'Illuminati' into the computer, it returned thousands of current references. Apparently a lot of people think this group is still active."'**

"Conspiracy theorists," everyone said.

**'"Conspiracy buffs," Langdon replied. He had always been annoyed by the plethora of conspiracy theories that circled in modern pop culture. The media craved apocalyptic headlines, and self-proclaimed "cult specialists" were still cashing in on millennium hype with fabricated stories that the Illuminati were alive and well and organizing their New World Order. Recently, the_ New York Times_ had reported the eerie Masonic ties of countless famous men - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the Duke of Kent, Peter Sellers, Irving Berlin, Prince Philip, Louis Armstrong, as well as a pantheon of well-known modern-day industrialists and banking magnates.**  
**Kohler pointed angrily at Vetra's body. "Considering the evidence, I would say perhaps the conspiracy buffs are correct."**  
**"I realize how it appears," Langdon said as diplomatically as he could. "And yet a far more plausible explanation is that some _other_ organization has taken over the Illuminati brand and is using it for their own purposes."**  
**"What purposes? What does this murder prove?"**  
**_Good question_, Langdon thought. He also was having trouble imagining where anyone could have turned up the Illuminati brand after 400 years. "All I can tell you is that even if the Illuminati were still active today, which I am virtually positive they are not, they would never be involved in Leonardo Vetra's death."**  
**"No?"**  
**"No. The Illuminati may have believed in the abolition of Christianity, but they wielded their power through political and financial means, no through terrorists' acts. Furthermore, the Illuminati had a strict code of morality regarding who they saw as enemies. They held men of science in the highest regard. There is no way they would murder a fellow scientist like Leonardo Vetra."**  
**Kohler's eyes turned to ice. "Perhaps I failed to mention that Leonardo Vetra was anything but an ordinary scientist."**  
**Langdon exhaled patiently. "Mr. Kohler, I'm sure Leonardo Vetra brilliant in many ways, but the fact remains -"**  
**Without warning, Kohler spun in his wheelchair and accelerated out of the living room, leaving a wake of swirling mist as he disappeared down a hallway.**  
**_For the love of God_, Langdon groaned. He followed. Kohler was waiting for him in a small alcove at the end of the hallway.**  
**"This is Leonardo's study," Kohler said, motioning to the sliding door. "Perhaps when you see it you'll understand things differently." With an awkward grunt, Kohler heaved, and the door slid open.**  
**Langdon peered into the study and immediately felt his skin crawl. _Holy mother of Jesus_, he said to himself.'**

"That's it," Jennifer said while handing the book to Kelly.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Chapter 12

AN: Same as before. Enjoy!

**'Twelve,'** Kelly read.

**'In another country, a young guard sat patiently before an expansive bank of video monitors. He watched as images flashed before him - live feeds from hundreds of wireless video cameras that surveyed the sprawling complex. The images went by in an endless procession.**  
**An ornate hallway.**  
**A private office.**  
**An industrial-size kitchen.**  
**As the pictures went by, the guard fought off a daydream. He was nearing the end of his shift, and yet he was still vigilant. Service was an honor. Someday he would be granted his ultimate reward.'**

_"Oh, merda!"_ Logan said with wide eyes. His face was paler than usual.  
"What's wrong?" Courtney asked.  
_"Basilica di San Pietro. Il Vaticano. Il Papa e in pericolo dalla impostori Illuminati."_  
"Huh?" everyone but Vittoria said. Vittoria was shocked that this young man just figured out where everything was going to take place.  
"I know a little bit of Italian," Courtney said. "_Basilica di San Pietro_ means Saint Peter's Basilica. _Il Vaticano_ means the Vatican._ Il Papa_ has two meanings : the father or the pope. I'm leaning more towards the Pope. _E in pericolo_ means is in danger._ Dalla impostori Illuminati_ means from the Illuminati imposters. So, what he said was 'Saint Peter's Basilica. The Vatican. The Pope is in danger from the Illuminati imposters.'"  
"How?" Kendall asked, turning to Logan, who was smiling at Courtney.  
"Remember yesterday when Courtney and I deduced that the Hassassin must be from Italy or Rome? That only strengthens it since my mom went to St. Peter's when she was little. She described it to me once when I asked about it."  
Everyone was stunned. Kelly started reading again.

**'As his thoughts drifted, an image before him registered alarm. Suddenly, with a reflexive jerk that startled even himself, his hand shot out and hit a button on the control panel. The picture before him froze.**  
**His nerves tingling, he leaned toward the screen for a closer look. The reading on the monitor told him the image was being transmitted from camera #86 - a camera that was supposed to be overlooking a hallway. But the image before him was most definitely_ not_ a hallway.'**

"That was short," Kelly said as she handed the book to Gustavo.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Chapter 13

AN: Same as before. Enjoy! If you want to know where I'm getting the translations from, I'm using google translate.

**'Thirteen,'** Gustavo read.

**'Langdon stared in bewilderment at the study before him. "What is this place?" Despite the welcome blast of warm air on his face, he stepped through the door with trepidation.**  
**Kohler said nothing as he followed Langdon inside.**  
**Langdon scanned the room, not having the slightest idea what to make of it. It contained the most peculiar mix of artifacts he had ever seen. On the far wall, dominating the decor, was an enormous wooden crucifix, which Langdon placed as fourteenth-century Spanish. Above the cruciform, suspended from the ceiling, was a metallic mobile of the orbiting planets. To the left was an oil painting of the Virgin Mary, and beside that was a laminated periodic table of elements. On the side wall, two additional brass cruciforms flanked a poster of Albert Einstein, his famous quote reading, GOD DOES NOT PLAY DICE WITH THE UNIVERSE.**  
**Langdon moved into the room, looking around in astonishment. A leather-bound Bible sat on Vetra's desk beside a plastic Bohr model of an atom and a miniature replica of Michelangelo's Moses.**  
**Talk about eclectic, Langdon thought. The warmth felt good, but something about the decor sent a new set of chills through his body. He felt like he was witnessing the clash of two philosophical titans. . .an unsettling blur of opposing forces. He scanned the titles on the bookshelf :**  
_**The God Particle **_

_**The Tao of Physics**_

_** God : The Evidence**_

** One of the bookends was etched with a quote :**  
**TRUE SCIENCE DISCOVERS GOD WAITING BEHIND EVERY DOOR - Pope Pius XII **

**"Leonardo was a Catholic priest," Kohler said. Langdon turned. "A priest? I thought you said he was a physicist."**  
**"He was both. Men of science and religion are not unprecedented in history. Leonardo was one of them. He considered physics 'God's natural law.' He claimed God's handwriting was visible in the natural order all around us. Through science he hoped to prove God's existence to the doubting masses. He considered himself a theo-physicist."**  
**_Theo-physicist?_ Langdon thought it sounded impossibly oxymoronic.**  
**"The field of particle physics," Kohler said, "has made some shocking discoveries lately - discoveries quite spiritual in implication. Leonardo was responsible for many of them." **

**Langdon studied CERN's director, still trying to process the bizarre surroundings. "Spirituality and physics?" Langdon had spent his career studying religious history, and if there was one recurring theme, it was that science and religion had been oil and water since day one. . .archenemies. . .unmixable.**  
**"Vetra was on the cutting edge of particle physics," Kohler said. "He was starting to fuse science and religion. . .showing that they complement each other in most unanticipated ways. He called the field _New_ _Physics_." Kohler pulled a book from the shelf and handed it to Langdon.**  
**Langdon studied the cover. _God, Miracles, and the New Physics_ - by Leonardo Vetra.**  
**"The field is small," Kohler said, "but it's bringing fresh answers to some old questions - questions about the origin of the universe and the forces that bind us all. Leonardo believed his research had the potential to convert millions to a more spiritual life. Last year he categorically proved the existence of an energy force that unites us all. He actually demonstrated that we are all physically connected. . .that the molecules in your body are intertwined with the molecules in mine. . .that there is a single force moving within all of us."**  
**Langdon felt disconcerted. _And the power of God shall unite us all._ "Mr. Vetra actually found a way to demonstrate that particles are connected?"**  
**"Conclusive evidence. A recent _Scientific American_ article hailed _New Physics_ as a surer path to God than religion itself."**  
**The comment hit home. Langdon suddenly found himself thinking of the antireligious Illuminati. Reluctantly, he forced himself to permit a momentary intellectual foray into the impossible. If the Illuminati were indeed still active, would they have killed Leonardo to stop him from bringing his religious message to the masses? Langdon shook off the thought. _Absurd! The Illuminati are ancient history! All academics know that!_**  
**"Vetra had plenty of enemies in the scientific world," Kohler went on. "Many scientific purists despised him.'**

"Well, obviously, or they wouldn't have killed him," James said, but one look from Logan made him shut up.

**'Even here at CERN. They felt that using analytical physics to support religious principles was a treason against science."**  
**"But aren't scientists today a bit less defensive about the church?"**  
**Kohler grunted in disgust. "Why _should_ we be? The church may not be burning scientists at the stake anymore, but if you think they've released their reign over science, ask yourself why half the school's in your country are not allowed to teach evolution. Ask yourself why the U.S. Christian Coalition is the most influential lobby against scientific progress in the world. The battle between science and religion is still raging, Mr. Langdon. It has moved from the battlefields to the boardrooms, but it is still raging."**  
**Langdon realized that Kohler was right. Just last week the Harvard School of Divinity had marched on the Biology Building, protesting the genetic engineering taking place in the graduate program. The chairman of the Bio Department, famed ornithologist Richard Aaronian, defended his curriculum by hanging a huge banner from his office window. The banner depicted the Christian "fish" modified with four little feet - a tribute, Aaronian claimed, to the African lungfishes' evolution onto dry land. Beneath the fish, instead of the word "Jesus," was the proclamation "DARWIN!"**  
**A sharp beeping sound cut the air, and Langdon looked up. Kohler reached down into the array of electronics on his wheelchair. He slipped a beeper out of its holder and read the incoming message.**  
**"Good. That is Leonardo's daughter. Ms. Vetra is arriving at the helipad right now. We will meet her there. I think it best she not come up here and see her father this way."**  
**Langdon agreed. It would be a shock no child deserved.**  
**"I will ask Mr. Vetra to explain the project she and her father have been working on. . .perhaps shedding light on why he was murdered."**  
**"You think Vetra's _work_ is why he was killed?"**  
**"Quite possibly. Leonardo told me he was working on something groundbreaking. That is all he said. He had become very secretive about the project. He had a private lab and demanded seclusion, which I gladly afforded him on account of his brilliance. His work had been consuming huge amounts of electric power lately, but I refrained from questioning him." Kohler rotated toward the study door. "There is, however, one more thing you need to know before we leave this flat."**  
**Langdon was not sure he wanted to hear it.**  
**"An item was stolen from Vetra by his murderer."**  
**"An item?"**  
**"Follow me."**  
**The director propelled his wheelchair back into the fog-filled living room. Langdon followed, not knowing what to expect. Kohler maneuvered to within inches of Vetra's body and stopped. He ushered Langdon to join him. Reluctantly, Langdon came close, bile rising in his throat at the smell of the victim's frozen urine.**  
**"Look at his face," Kohler said.'**

_"Non dirmi che l'assassino tagliato il suo occhio per la password,"_ Logan said, a disgusted look on his face as he reverted back to Italian.  
"All I understood was 'password'," Carlos said, with agreement from everyone besides Vittoria and Courtney.  
"You don't want to know and I'm sorry Logan but your suspicions are correct," Vittoria said.  
Logan groaned as his face turned a little bit green.  
"Are you going to tell us?" Katie asked. He shook his head and kept his mouth shut.

**_'Look at his face?_ Langdon frowned. _I thought you said something was stolen._**  
**Hesitantly, Langdon knelt down. He tried to see Vetra's face, but the head was twisted 180 degrees backward, his face pressed into the carpet.**  
**Struggling against his handicap Kohler reached down and carefully twisted Vetra's frozen head. Cracking loudly, the corpse's face rotated into view, contorted in agony. Kohler held it there a moment.**  
**"Sweet Jesus!" Langdon cried, stumbling back in horror. Vetra's face was covered in blood. A single hazel eye stared lifelessly back at him. The other socket was tattered and empty. "They stole his _eye_?"'**

"That's what you were talking about?" all the teens besides Courtney asked.  
Logan nodded.  
"Here," Gustavo said while nearly throwing the book at Robert.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Chapter 14

AN: Same as before. Enjoy!

**'Fourteen,'** Robert read.

**'Langdon stepped out of Building C into the open air, grateful to be outside Vetra's flat. The sun helped dissolved the image of the empty eye socket emblazoned into his mind.**  
**"This way, please," Kohler said, veering up a steep path. The electric wheelchair seemed to accelerate effortlessly. "Ms. Vetra will be arriving any moment."**  
**Langdon hurried to keep up.**  
**"So," Kohler asked. "Do you still doubt the Illuminati's involvement?"**  
**Langdon had no idea what to think anymore. Vetra's religious affiliations were definitely troubling, and yet Langdon could not bring himself to abandon every shred of academic evidence he had ever researched. Besides, there was the eye. . .**  
**"I still maintain," Langdon said, more forcefully than he intended, "that the Illuminati are _not_ responsible for this murder. The missing eye is proof."**  
**"What?"**  
**"Random mutilation," Langdon explained, "is very. . ._un_-Illuminati. Cult specialists see desultory defacement from inexperienced fringe sects - zealots who commit random acts of terrorism - but the Illuminati have always been more deliberate."**  
**"Deliberate? Surgically removing someone's eye is not deliberate?"**  
**"It sends no clear message. It serves no higher purpose."**  
**Kohler's wheelchair stopped short at the top of the hill. He turned. "Mr. Langdon, believe me, that missing eye does indeed serve a higher purpose. . .a much higher purpose."'**

_"Avevo ragione, non ero io?"_ Logan said. _"Chi l'occhio e la parola d'ordine?"_  
Vittoria nodded.

**'As the two men crossed the grassy rise, the beating of helicopter blades became audible to the west. A chopper appeared, arching across the open valley toward them. It banked sharply, then slowed to a hover over a helipad painted on the grass.**  
**Langdon watched, detached, his mind churning circles like the blades, wondering if a full night's sleep would make his current disorientation any clearer. Somehow, he doubted it. As the skids touched down, a pilot jumped out and started unloading gear. There was a lot of it - duffels, vinyl wet bags, scuba tanks, and crates of what appeared to be high-tech diving equipment.**  
**Langdon was confused. "Is that Ms. Vetra's gear?" he yelled to Kohler over the roar of the engines.**  
**Kohler nodded and yelled back, "She was doing biological research in the Balearic Sea."**  
**"I thought you said she was a _physicist_?"**  
**"She is. She's a Bio Entanglement Physicist. She studies the interconnectivity of life systems. Her work ties closely with her father's work in particle physics. Recently she disproved one of Einstein's fundamental theories by using atomically synchronized cameras to observe a school of tuna fish."'**

Everyone had a confused look on their faces as Logan said, _"Einstein e tonno?"_

**'Langdon searched his host's face for any glint of humor. _Einstein and tuna fish?_ He was starting to wonder if the X-33 space plane had mistakenly dropped him off on the wrong planet.**  
**A moment later, Vittoria Vetra emerged from the fuselage. Robert Langdon realized today was going to be an endless day of surprises. Descending from the chopper in her khaki shorts and white sleeveless top, Vittoria Vetra looked nothing like the bookish physicist he had expected. Lithe and graceful, she was tall with chestnut skin and long black hair that swirled in the backwind of the rotors. Her face was unmistakably Italian - not overly beautiful, but possessing full, earthy features that even at twenty yards seemed to exude a raw sensuality. As the air currents buffeted her body, her clothes clung, accentuating her slender torso and small breasts.'**

_"Signor Langdon,"_ Logan said with a sarcastic tone, but you could also sense a hint of seriousness in it. _"Non ti e permesso di avero pensieri cattivi sul mio collega italiano."_  
Vittoria had a small smile on her face as she translated, "'Mr. Langdon, you are not allowed to have naughty thoughts about my fellow Italian.'"  
"How is that a naughty thought?" Robert asked.  
Logan looked at him with an 'are-you-kidding-me' look. He nodded his head towards the book and back up at Robert.  
Robert finally got it and he said, "Perv."  
"You thought it," was Logan's response.

**'"Ms. Vetra is a woman of tremendous strength," Kohler said, seeming to sense Langdon's captivation. "She spends months at a time working in dangerous ecological systems. She is a strict vegetarian and CERN's resident guru of Hatha yoga."'**

Everyone but Vittoria and Robert had a confused look on their faces, but Robert plowed on.

**_'Hatha yoga?_ Langdon mused. The ancient art of Buddhist art of meditative stretching seemed an odd proficiency for the physicist daughter of a Catholic priest.**  
**Langdon watched Vittoria approach. She had obviously been crying, her deep sable eyes filled with emotions Langdon could not place.'**

Logan raised an eyebrow at Robert, but, again, the professor kept on reading.

**'Still, she moved toward them with fire and command. Her limbs were strong and toned, radiating the healthy luminescence of Mediterranean flesh that had enjoyed long hours in the sun.**  
**"Vittoria," Kohler said as she approached. "My deepest condolences. It's a terrible loss for science. . . for all of us here at CERN."**  
**Vittoria nodded gratefully. When she spoke, her voice was smooth - a throaty, accented English. "Do you know who is responsible yet?"**  
**"We're still working on it."**  
**She turned to Langdon, holding out a slender hand. "My name is Vittoria Vetra. You're from Interpol, I assume?"**  
**Langdon took her hand, momentarily spell-bound by the depth of her watery gaze. "Robert Langdon." He was unsure what else to say.**  
**"Mr. Langdon is not with the authorities," Kohler explained. "He is a specialist from the U.S. He's here to help us locate who is responsible for this situation."**  
**Vittoria looked uncertain. "And the police?"**  
**Kohler exhaled but said nothing.**  
**"Where is his body?" she demanded.**  
**"Being attended to."**  
**The white lie surprised Langdon.'**

"It shouldn't have," Kendall and James said.  
"Here we go again," Logan exhaled. You can tell that he was bracing himself for an argument.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kendall asked.  
"It means that you always jump to conclusions."  
"So?" James asked.  
"That's a bad thing." Logan sighed and continued. "You know those feelings I get in my stomach? The ones that are never wrong?"  
"Yeah."  
Logan kept silent.  
"Wait a minute," Kendall said. "You are having one of those feelings and that feeling is saying that Kohler is innocent?"  
"Pretty much, yeah."  
"Alright, what's the rest of it?" James asked.  
"That he didn't harm the Pope. That he didn't take something from CERN. And that Mr. Langdon is going to have to jump out of a helicopter at some point towards the end."  
Everyone but Vittoria and Robert was looking at him with _'what-the-f***/heck'_ plainly written on their faces. The other two were wondering if Logan's mom somehow produced another Einstein.

**'"I want to see him," Vittoria said.**  
**"Vittoria," Kohler urged, "your father was brutally murdered. You would be better to remember him as he was."**  
**Vittoria began to speak but was interrupted.**  
**"Hey, Vittoria!" voices called from the distance. "Welcome home!"**  
**She turned. A group of scientists passing near the helipad waved happily.**  
**"Disprove anymore of Einstein's theories?" one shouted.**  
**Another added,"Your dad must be proud!"**  
**Vittoria gave an awkward wave as they passed. Then she turned to Kohler, her face now clouded with confusion. "Nobody _knows_ yet?"**  
**"I decided discretion was paramount."**  
**"You haven't told the staff my father was _murdered_?" Her mystified tone was now laced with anger.**  
**Kohler's tone hardened instantly. "Perhaps you forgot, Ms. Vetra, as soon as I report your father's murder, there will be an investigation of CERN. Including a thorough examination of his lab. I have always tried to respect your father's privacy. Your father has only told me two things about your current project. One, that is has the potential to bring CERN millions of francs in licensing contracts in the next decade. And two, that it is not ready for public disclosure because it is still hazardous technology. Considering these two facts, I would prefer strangers not poke around inside his lab and either steal his work or kill themselves in the process and hold CERN liable. Do I make myself clear?"**  
**Vittoria stared, saying nothing. Langdon sensed in her a reluctant respect and acceptance of Kohler's logic.**  
**"Before we report anything to the authorities," Kohler said, "I need to know what you two were working on. I need you to take us to your lab."**  
**"The lab is irrelevant," Vittoria said. "Nobody knew what my father and I were doing. The experiment could not possibly have anything to do with my father's murder."**  
**Kohler exhaled a raspy, ailing breath. "Evidence suggests otherwise."**  
**"Evidence? What evidence?"**  
**Langdon was wondering the same thing.'**

"The eye," Logan said.  
"What?" everyone but Courtney asked.  
"The _'lock'_ is an eye-reader," Courtney said. "In the prologue, the assassin was looking for a key or password. The eye is the key."  
Everyone was silent as Robert decided to continue.

**'Kohler was dabbing his mouth again. "You'll just have to trust me."**  
**It was clear, from Vittoria's smoldering gaze, that she did not.'**

"Here you go, Mr. Holt," Robert said as he handed the book to Mike, who had been silent for a while.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Chapter 15

AN: Same as before. Enjoy! Sorry for the wait.

**'Fifteen,'** Mike read.

**'Langdon strode silently behind Vittoria and Kohler as they moved into the main atrium where Langdon's bizarre visit had begun. Vittoria's legs drove in fluid efficiency - like an Olympic diver - a potency, Langdon figured, no doubt born from the flexibility and control of yoga. He could hear her breathing slowly and deliberately, as if somehow trying to filter her grief.**  
**Langdon wanted to say something to her, offer his sympathy. He too had felt the abrupt hollowness of unexpectedly losing a parent. He remembered the funeral mostly, rainy and gray. Two days after his twelfth birthday. The house was filled with gray-suited men from the office, men who squeezed his hand to hard when they shook it. They were all mumbling words like _cardiac_ and _stress_. His mother joked through teary eyes that she'd always been able to follow the stock market simply by holding her husband's hand. . . his pulse her own private ticker tape.**  
**Once, when his father was alive, Langdon had heard his mom begging his father to "stop and smell the roses." That year, Langdon bought his father a tiny blown-glass rose for Christmas. It was the most beautiful thing Langdon had ever seen. . . the way the sun caught it, throwing a rainbow of colors on the wall. "It's lovely," his father had said when he opened it, kissing Langdon on the forehead. "Let's find a safe spot for it." Then his father had carefully placed the rose on a high dusty shelf in the darkest corner of the living room. A few days later, Langdon got a stool, retrieved the rose, and took it back to the store. His father never noticed it was gone. **

**The ping of an elevator pulled Langdon back to the present. Vittoria and Kohler were in front of him, boarding the lift. Langdon hesitated outside the open doors.**  
**"Is something wrong?" Kohler asked, sounding more impatient than concerned.**  
**"Not at all," Langdon said, forcing himself toward the cramped carriage. He only used elevators when absolutely** **necessary. He preferred the open spaces of stairwells.**  
**"Dr. Vetra's lab is subterranean," Kohler said.'**

"Great," Logan whispered, low enough so that only Courtney and Sophie could hear. Courtney squeezed his hand while Sophie patted him on the shoulder.

**'_Wonderful_, Langdon thought as he stepped across the cleft, feeling an icy wind churn up from the depths of the shaft. The doors closed, and the car began to descend.**  
**"Six stories," Kohler said blankly, like an analytical engine.**  
**Langdon pictured the darkness of the empty shaft below them. He tried to block it out by staring at the numbered display of changing floors. Oddly, the elevator showed only two stops. GROUND LEVEL and LHC.'**

"LHC?" everyone but Robert, Mike, and Vittoria asked.  
"You'll find out," Robert said.

**'"What's LHC stand for?" Langdon asked, trying not to sound nervous.**  
**"Large Hadron Collider," Kohler said. "A particle accelerator."**  
**_Particle accelerator?_, Langdon was vaguely familiar with the term. He had first heard it over dinner with some colleagues at Dunster House in Cambridge. A physicist friend of theirs, Bob Brownell, had arrived for dinner one night in a rage.**  
**"The beep canceled it!" Brownell cursed.**  
**"Canceled what?" they all asked.**  
**"The SSC!" "The what?"**  
**"The Superconducting Super Collider!"'**

"Just one problem," Logan said, and you could just tell that it bugged the h*** out of him.  
"What?"  
"Superconducting Super Collider."  
"Is this kinda like the Super Hollywood Party Kings of Hollywood?" James asked innocently.  
Logan nodded. The others didn't see what was wrong with the name.  
"In the particle accelerator's name, they used 'super' twice," Carlos said to the confused looks.

**'Someone shrugged. "I didn't know that Harvard was building one."**  
**"Not Harvard!" he exclaimed. "The U.S.! It was going to be the world's most powerful particle accelerator! One of the most important scientific projects of the century! Two _billion_ dollars into it and the Senate sacks the project! Beep Bible-Belt lobbyists!"'**

"Hey!" Courtney, Rachel, and Kalyn said.  
"They grew up in the Bible-Belt," Katie said to clear up the confusion.

**'When Brownell finally calmed down, he explained that a particle accelerator was a large, circular tube through which subatomic particles were accelerated.'**

"Hence the name 'particle accelerator,'" Kalyn said sarcastically.

**'Magnets in the tube turned on and off in rapid succession to "push" particles around and around until they reached tremendous velocities. Fully accelerated particles circled the tube at over 180,000 miles per _second_.**  
**"But that's almost the speed of light," one of the professors exclaimed.**  
**"Beep right," Brownell said. He went on to say that by accelerating two particles in opposite directions around the tube and then colliding them, scientists could shatter the particles into their constituent parts and get a glimpse of nature's most fundamental components. "Particle accelerators," Brownell declared, "are critical to the future of science. Colliding particles is the key to understanding the building blocks of the universe."**  
**Harvard's _Poet in Residence_, a quiet man named Charles Pratt, did not look impressed. "It sounds to me," he said, "like a rather Neanderthal approach to science. . .akin to smashing clocks together to discern their internal workings."**  
**Brownell dropped his fork and stormed out of the room.**  
**_So CERN has a particle accelerator?_ Langdon thought, as the elevator dropped. _A circular tube for smashing_ _particles._ He wondered why they had buried it underground. When the elevator thumped to a stop, Langdon was relieved to feel terra firma beneath his feet. But when the doors slid open, his relief evaporated. Robert Langdon found himself standing once again in a totally alien world. The passageway stretched out indefinitely in both directions, left and right. It was a smooth cement tunnel,'**

Logan stiffened and closed his eyes while Courtney rubbed his hand with one of hers and rubbed his back with the other.

**'wide enough to allow passage for an eightteen-wheeler. Brightly lit where they stood, the corridor turned pitch black farther down. A damp wind rustled out of the darkness - an unsettling reminder that they were now deep in the earth. Langdon could almost sense the weight of the dirt and stone now hanging above his head. For an instant he was nine years old. . .the darkness forcing him back. . .back to the five hours of crushing blackness that haunted him still. Clenching his fists, he fought it off. Vittoria remained hushed as she exited the elevator and strode off without hesitation into the darkness without them. Overhead, the fluorescents flickered on to light her path. The effect was unsettling, Langdon thought, as if the tunnel were alive. . .anticipating her every move.'**

"Please don't talk about it being alive," Logan shuddered, which was kind of weird in an Italian accent.

**'Langdon and Kohler followed, trailing a distance behind. The lights extinguished automatically behind them. "This particle accelerator," Langdon said quietly. "It's down this tunnel someplace?"**  
**"That's it there." Kohler motioned to his left where a polished, chrome tube ran along the tunnel's inner wall.**  
**Langdon eyed the tube, confused. "_That's_ the accelerator?" The device looked nothing like he had imagined. It was perfectly straight, about three feet in diameter, and extended horizontally the visible length of the tunnel before disappearing into the darkness. _Looks more like a high-tech sewer_, Langdon thought. "I thought particle accelerators were _circular_."**  
**"This accelerator _is_ a circle," Kohler said. "It appears straight, but that is an optical illusion. The circumference of this tunnel is so large that the curve is imperceptible - like that of the earth."**  
**Langdon was flabbergasted.'**

So was everyone else.

**'_This is a circle?_ "But. . .it must be enormous!"**  
**"The LHC is the largest machine in the world."**  
**Langdon did a double take. He remembered the CERN driver saying something about a huge machine buried in the earth. _But -_**  
**"It is over eight kilometers in diameter. . .and twenty-seven kilometers long."**  
**Langdon's head whipped around. "Twenty-seven kilometers?" He stared at the director and then turned and looked into the darkened tunnel before him. "This tunnel is twenty-seven kilometers long? That's. . .that's over sixteen miles!"**  
**Kohler nodded. "Bored in a perfect circle. It extends all the way into France before curving back here to this spot. Fully accelerated particles will circle the tube more than ten thousand times in a single second before they collide."**  
**Langdon's legs felt rubbery as he stared down the gaping tunnel. "You're telling me that CERN dug out millions of tons of earth just to smash tiny particles?"**  
**Kohler shrugged. "Sometimes to find truth, one must move mountains."'**

"Mr. Solomon," Mike said as he handed the book to Peter.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Chapter 16

AN: Same as before. Enjoy!

AN2: Do you think I should add some more characters. If you do, please say so in a review and tell me the name of said character, what they look like, their likes and dislikes, etc. Be creative. Or, if you can't think of one, you could answer this. Should I put Logan's dad in here as well? I would really like your imput on the story, too. :)

'**Sixteen**,' Peter read.

**'Hundreds of miles from CERN, a voice crackled through a walkie-talkie. "Okay, I'm in the hallway."**  
**The technician monitoring the video screens pressed the button on his transmitter. "You're looking for camera #86. It's supposed to be at the far end."**  
**There was a long silence on the radio. The waiting technician broke a light sweat. Finally his radio clicked.**  
**"The camera isn't here," the voice said. "I can see where it was mounted, though. Somebody must have removed it."**  
**The technician exhaled heavily. "Thanks. Hold on a second, will you?"**  
**Sighing, he redirected his attention to the bank of video screens in front of him. Huge portions of the complex were open to the public, and wireless cameras had gone missing before, usually stolen by visiting pranksters looking for souvenirs. But as soon as a camera left the facility and was out of range, the signal was lost, and the screen went blank. Perplexed, the technician glanced up at the monitor. A crystal clear image was still coming from camera #86.**  
**_If a camera was stolen_, he wondered, _why are we still getting a signal?_ He knew, of course, there was only one explanation. The camera was still inside the complex, and someone had simply moved it. _But who? And why?'_**

"_Probabilmente per far saltare il posto_," Logan said, scowling at the book. "_Hai mai pensato, amico? Invece di appena seduti_ _su di te asino, perche non andare a cercare da soli?"_

**'He studied the monitor a long moment. Finally he picked up his walkie-talkie. "Are there any closets in that stairwell? Any cupboards or dark alcoves?"**  
**The voice replying sounded confused. "No. Why?"**  
**The technician frowned. "Never mind. Thanks for your help." He turned off his walkie-talkie and pursed his lips.**  
**Considering the small size of the video camera and the fact that is was wireless, the technician knew that #86 could be transmitting from just about _anywhere_ within the heavily guarded compound - a densely packed collection of thirty-two separate buildings covering a half-mile radius. The only clue was that the camera seemed to have been placed somewhere dark. Of course, that wasn't much help. The complex contained endless dark locations - maintenance closets, heating ducts, gardening sheds, bedroom wardrobes, even a labyrinth of underground tunnels.'**

Logan, who had finally relaxed when Mike had passed the book to Peter, cocked his head to the side and got a strange look on his face. It was like he was looking for an answer that he already knew, but was trying to clarify it.  
"What is it?" Courtney asked.  
"I think that camera is in the labyrinth," Logan finally said. "And the thing that it's filming is the thing stolen from CERN."  
Silence.

**'Camera #86 could take weeks to locate.**  
**_But that's the least of my problems_, he thought.**  
**Despite the dilemma posed by the camera's relocation, there was another far more unsettling matter at hand. The technician gazed up at the image the lost camera was transmitting. It was a stationary object. A modern-looking device like nothing the technician had ever seen. He studied the blinking electronic display at its base.**  
**Although the guard had undergone rigorous training preparing him for tense situations, he still sensed his pulse rising. He told himself not to panic. There had to be an explanation. The object appeared too small to be of significant danger.'**

"Size doesn't matter," Courtney said.  
"Yeah, look at Katie, Kalyn, and Mary-Grace," Kendall said.  
The three girls glared at him.

**'Then again, its presence inside the complex was troubling. _Very_ troubling, indeed. **

**_Today of all days_, he thought.**

** Security was always a top priority for his employer, but _today_, more than any other day in the past twelve years, security was of the utmost importance. The technician stared at the object for a long time and sensed the rumblings of a distant gathering storm.**  
**Then, sweating, he dialed his superior.'**

"Ms. Knight," Peter said while handing the book to Katie.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Chapter 17

AN: Same as before. Enjoy!

'**Seventeen,**' Katie read.

**'Not many children could say they remembered the day they met their father, but Vittoria Vetra could. She was eight years old, living where she always had, Orfanotrofio di Siena,'**

"What?" everyone but Logan and Vittoria said.  
"It means 'Orphanage in Siena,'" Vittoria translated.

**'a Catholic orphanage near Florence, deserted by parents she never knew. It was raining that day. The nuns had called for her twice to come to dinner, but as always she pretended not to hear. She lay outside in the courtyard, staring up at the raindrops. . .feeling them hit her body. . .trying to guess where one would land next. The nuns called again, threatening that pneumonia might make an insufferably headstrong child a lot less curious about nature. I can't hear you, Vittoria thought.**  
**She was soaked to the bone when the young priest came out to get her. She didn't know him. He was new there. Vittoria waited for him to grab her and drag her back inside. But he didn't. Instead, to her wonder, he lay down beside her, soaking his robes in a puddle. "They say you ask a lot of questions," the young man said. Vittoria scowled. "Are questions bad?"**  
**He laughed. "Guess they were right."**  
**"What are you doing out here?"**  
**"Same thing you're doing. . .wondering why raindrops fall."**  
**"I'm not wondering why they fall! I already know!"**  
**The priest gave her an astonished look. "You do?"**  
**"Sister Francisca says raindrops are angel's tears coming down to wash away our sins."**  
**"Wow!" he said, sounding amazed. "So that explains it."**  
**"No it doesn't!" the girl fired back. "Raindrops fall because everything falls! Everything falls! Not just rain!"**  
**The priest scratched his head, looking perplexed. "You know, young lady, you're right. Everything does fall. It must be gravity."**  
**"It must be what?"**  
**He gave her an astonished look. "You haven't heard of gravity?"**  
**"No."**  
**The priest shrugged sadly. "Too bad. Gravity answers a lot of questions."**  
**Vittoria sat up. "What's gravity?" she demanded. "Tell me!"**  
**The priest gave her a wink. "What do you say I tell you over dinner?"'**

Everyone chuckled slightly.

**'The young priest was Leonardo Vetra. Although he had been an award-winning physics student while in university, he'd heard another call and gone into the seminary. Leonardo and Vittoria became unlikely best friends in the lonely world of nuns and regulations. Vittoria made Leonardo laugh, and he took her under his wing, teaching her that beautiful things like rainbows and the rivers had many explanations. He told her about light, planets, stars, and all of nature through the eyes of both God and science. Vittoria's innate intellect and curiosity made her a captivating student. Leonardo protected her like a daughter. Vittoria was happy too. She had never known the joy of having a father. When every other adult answered her questions with a slap on the wrist, Leonardo spent hours showing her books. He even asked what her ideas were. Vittoria prayed Leonardo would stay with her forever. Then one day, her worst nightmare came true. Father Leonardo told her he was leaving the orphanage. "I'm moving to Switzerland," Leonardo said. "I have a grant to study physics at the University of Geneva."**  
**"Physics?" Vittoria cried. "I thought you loved God!"**  
**"I do, very much. Which is why I want to study his divine rules. The laws of physics are the canvas God laid down on which to paint his masterpiece."**  
**Vittoria was devastated. But Father Leonardo had some other news. He told Vittoria he had spoken to his superiors, and they said it was okay if Father Leonardo adopted her.**  
**"Would you like me to adopt you?" Leonardo asked.**  
**"What's adopt mean?" Vittoria said.**  
**Father Leonardo told her.**  
**Vittoria hugged him for five minutes, crying tears of joy. "Oh yes! Yes!"**  
**Leonardo told her that he needed to leave for a while and get their new home settled in Switzerland, but he promised to send for her in six months. It was the longest wait of Vittoria's life, but Leonardo kept his word. Five days before her ninth birthday, Vittoria moved to Geneva. She attended Geneva International School during the day and learned from her father at night. Three years later Leonardo Vetra was hired by CERN. Vittoria and Leonardo relocated to a wonderland the likes of which the young Vittoria had never imagined.**  
**Vittoria Vetra's body felt numb as she strode down the LHC tunnel. She saw her muted reflection in the LHC and sensed her father's absence. Normally she exsisted in a state of deep calm, in harmony with the world around her. But now, very suddenly, nothing made sense. The last three hours had been a blur.**  
**It had been 10 A.M. in the Baleric Islands when Kohler's call came through. Your father has been murdered. Come home immediately. Despite the sweltering heat on the deck of the dive boat, the words had chilled her to the bone, Kohler's emotionless tone hurting as much as the news.'**

James glanced at Logan during this sentence. His arms were crossed, his eyebrows drawn in. As if he felt James looking at him, Logan looked at him and gave him a small smile. It didn't reach his eyes like his smiles normally did.  
The man that calls himself Logan's father, James thought with anger, is gonna have h*** to pay. And then some.

**'Now she had returned home. But home to what? CERN, her world since she was twelve, seemed suddenly foreign. Her father, the man who had made it magical, was gone.**  
**Deep breaths, she told herself, but she couldn't calm her mind. The questions circled faster and faster. Who killed her father? And why? Who was this American "specialist"? Why was Kohler insisting on seeing the lab?**  
**Kohler had said there was evidence that her father's murder was related to the current project. What evidence? Nobody knew what we were working on! And even if someone found out, why would they kill him?**  
**As she moved down the LHC tunnel toward her father's lab, Vittoria realized she was about to unveil her father's greatest achievement without him there. She had pictured this moment much differently. She had imagined her father calling CERN's top scientists to his lab, showing them his discovery, watching their awestruck faces. Then he would beam with fatherly pride as he explained to them how it had been one of Vittoria's ideas that had helped him make the project a reality. . .that his daughter had been integral in his breakthrough. Vittoria felt a lump in her throat. My father and I were supposed to share this moment together. But here she was alone. No colleagues. No happy faces. Just an American stranger and Maximilian Kohler.**  
**Maximilian Kohler. Der Konig.**  
**Even as a child, Vittoria had disliked the man. Although she eventually came to respect his potent intellect, his icy demeanor always seemed inhuman, the exact antithesis of her father's warmth. Kohler pursued science for its immaculate logic. . .her father for its spiritual wonder. And yet oddly there had always seemed to be an unspoken respect between the two men. Genius, someone had once explained to her, accepts genius unconditionally. Genius, she thought. My father. . .Dad. Dead.**  
**The entry to Leonardo Vetra's lab was a long sterile hallway paved entirely in white tile. Langdon felt like he was entering some kind of underground insane asylum. Lining the corridor were dozens of frames, black-and-white images. Although Langdon had made a career of studying images, these were entirely alien to him. They looked like chaotic negatives of random streaks and spirals. Modern art? he mused. Jackson Pollock on amphetamines?**  
**"Scatter plots," Vittoria said, apparently noting Langdon's interest. "Computer representations of particle collisions. That's the Z-particle," she said, pointing to a faint track that was almost invisible in the confusion. "My father discovered it five years ago. Pure energy - no mass at all. It may well be the smallest building block in nature. Matter is nothing but trapped energy."**  
**Matter is energy? Langdon cocked his head. Sounds pretty Zen. He gazed at the tiny streak in the photograph and wondered what his buddies in the Harvard physics department would say when he told them he'd spent the weekend hanging out in a Large Hadron Collider admiring Z-particles. "Vittoria," Kohler said, as they approached the lab's imposing steel door, "I should mention that I came down here this morning looking for your father."**  
**Vittoria flushed slightly. "You did?"'**

"Caught!" Carlos said, causing everyone to chuckle slightly.

**'"Yes. And imagine my surprise when I discovered he had replaced CERN's standard keypad security with something else." Kohler motioned to an intricate electric device mounted by the door.**  
**"I apologize," she said. "You know how he was about privacy. He didn't want anyone but the two of us to have access."**  
**Kohler said, "Fine. Open the door."**  
**Vittoria stood a long moment. Then, pulling a deep breath, she walked to the mechanism on the wall.**  
**Langdon was in no way prepared for what happened next.**  
**Vittoria stepped up to the device and carefully aligned her right eye with a protruding lens that looked like a telescope. Then she pressed a button. Inside the machine, something clicked. A shaft of light oscillated back and forth, scanning her eyeball like a copy machine.**  
**"It's a retina scan," she said. "Infallible security. Autorized for two retina patterns only. Mine and my father's."'**

"S***," Courtney whispered, but she might as well have shouted it.

**'Robert Langdon stood in horrified revelation. The image of Leonardo Vetra came back in grisly detail - the bloody face, the solitary hazel eye staring back, and the empty eye socket. He tried to reject the obvious truth, but then he saw it. . .beneath the scanner on the white tile floor. . .faint droplets of crimson. Dried blood.**  
**Vittoria, thankfully, did not notice.**  
**The steel door slid open and she walked through. Kohler fixed Langdon with an adamant stare. His message was clear: As I told you. . .the missing eye serves a higher purpose.'**

"Kalyn," Katie said, her face pale as she handed the book to said girl.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Chapter 18

AN: Same as before. Enjoy!

'**Eighteen**,' Kalyn read.

**'The woman's hands were tied, her wrists now purple and swollen from chafing. The mahogany-skinned Hassassin lay beside her, spent, admiring his naked prize.'**

Everyone shuddered at that, not wanting to think about what had happened.

**'He wondered if her current slumber was just a deception, a pathetic attempt to avoid further service to him.**  
**He did not care. He had reaped sufficient reward. Sated, he sat up in bed.**  
**In _his_ country women were possessions. Weak. Tools of pleasure. Chattel to be traded like livestock. And they understood their place. But _here_, in Europe, women feigned a strength and independence that both amused him and excited him. Forcing them into physical submission was a gratification he always enjoyed.**  
**Now, despite the contentment of his loins, the Hassassin sensed another appetite growing within him. He had killed last night, killed and mutilated, and for him killing was like heroin. . .each encounter satisfying only temporarily before increasing his longing for more. The exhilaration had worn off. The craving had returned.**  
**He studied the sleeping woman beside him. Running his palm across her neck, he felt aroused with the knowledge that he could end her life in an instant. What would it matter? She was subhuman, a vehicle only of pleasure and service. His strong fingers encircled her throat, savoring her delicate pulse. Then, fighting desire, he removed his hand. There was work to do. Service to a higher cause than his own desire.**  
**As he got out of bed, he reveled in the honor of the job before him. He still could not fathom the influence of this man named Janus and the ancient brotherhood he commanded. Wondrously, the brotherhood had chosen_ him_. Somehow they had learned of his loathing. . .and of his skills. How, he would never know. _Their roots reach wide._ **

**Now they had bestowed on him the ultimate honor. He would be their hands and their voice. Their assassin and their messenger. The one his people knew as _Malak al-haq_ - the Angel of Truth.'**

"_Quel bastardo! Quel figlio malato di una cagna_!" Logan exclaimed in disgust as he glared at the book.  
"Here, Rachel," Kalyn said as she handed the book to Rachel.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Chapter 19

AN: Same as always. Enjoy!

**'Nineteen,**' Rachel read.

**'Vetra's lab was wildly futuristic.**

**Stark white and bounded on all sides by computers and specialized electronic equipment, it looked like some sort of operating room. Langdon wondered what secrets this place could possibly hold to justify cutting someone's eye to gain entrance.**

**Kohler looked uneasy as they entered, his eyes seeming to dart about for signs of an intruder. But the lab was deserted. Vittoria moved slowly too. . .as if the lab felt unknown without her father there. **

**Langdon's gaze landed immediately in the center of the room, where a series of short pillars rose from the floor. Like a miniature Stonehenge, a dozen or so columns of polished steel stood in a circle in the middle of the room. The pillars were about three feet tall, reminding Langdon of museum displays of valuable gems. These pillars, however, were clearly not for precious stones. Each supported a thick, transparent canister about the size of a tennis ball can. They appeared empty. **

**Kohler eyed the canisters, looking puzzled. He apparently decided to ignore them for the time being. He turned to Vittoria. "Has anything been stolen?"**

**"Stolen? _How?_" she argued. "The retina scan only allows entry to us."**

**"Just look around."**

**Vittoria sighed and surveyed the room for a few moments. She shrugged. "Everything looks as my father always leaves it. Ordered chaos."'**

"Wonder whose room that sounds like," Logan said while looking at James and Carlos.

"It's ordered chaos," Carlos said.

"And I don't see how it is," Kendall said.

**'Langdon sensed Kohler weighing his options, as if wondering how far to push Vittoria. . .how much to tell her.'**

"_Che ne dici di dirle tutto quello che sai su l'omicidio di suo padre e presunto coinvolgimento degli Illuminati in questo_ _omicidio_," Logan growled at the book.

"Is his temper usually this bad?" Robert whispered to Gustavo, Peter leaning in to hear the answer.

"No," he whispered back.

**'Apparently he decided to leave it for the moment.'**

Logan literally growled this time.

**'Moving his wheelchair toward the center of the room, he surveyed the mysterious cluster of seemingly empty canisters. **

**"Secrets," Kohler finally said, "are a luxury we can no longer afford."**

**Vittoria nodded in acquiescence, looking suddenly emotional, as if being here brought with it a torrent of memories.**

**_Give her a minute_, Langdon thought.**

**As though preparing for what she was about to reveal, Vittoria closed her eyes and breathed. Then she breathed again. And again. And again. . .'**

"Well," Kendall said, "everyone breathes, who doesn't?"

Logan and Courtney looked at Mary-Grace, who nodded and slapped Kendall on the back of the head.

**'Langdon watched her, suddenly concerned. _Is she okay?_ He glanced at Kohler, who appeared unfazed, apparently having seen this ritual before. Ten seconds passed before Vittoria opened her eyes.**

**Langdon could not believe the metamorphosis. Vittoria Vetra had been transformed. Her full lips were lax, her shoulders down, and her eyes soft and assenting. It was as though she had realigned every muscle in her body to accept the situation. The resentful fire and personal anguish had been quelled somehow by a deeper, watery cool.**

**"Where to begin. . ." she said, her accent unruffled.**

**"At the beginning," Kohler said. "Tell us about your father's experiment."**

**"Rectifying science with religion has been my father's dream," Vittoria said. "He had hoped to prove that science and religion are two totally compatible fields - two different approaches to finding the same truth." She paused as if unable to believe what she was about to say. "And recently. . .he conceived of a way to do that."**

**Kohler said nothing.**

**"He devised an experiment, one he hoped would settle one of the most bitter conflicts in the history of science and religion."**

**Langdon wondered which conflict she could mean. There were so many. **

**"****Creationism," Vittoria declared. "The battle over how the universe came to be."**

**_Oh_, Langdon thought. _THE debate_.**

**"The Bible, of course, states that God created the universe," she explained. "God said, 'Let there be light,' and everything** **we see appeared out of a vast emptiness. Unfortunately, one of the fundamental laws of physics states that matter cannot be created out of nothing."**

**Langdon had read about this stalemate. The idea that God allegedly created "something from nothing" was totally contrary to accepted laws of modern physics and therefore, scientists claimed, Genesis was scientifically absurd.'**

Kendall, James, and Carlos looked at Logan.

"What?" Logan asked as Rachel, Kalyn, Katie, and Mary-Grace joined in. They raised their eyebrows at him as Courtney rolled her eyes.

"They want to know if you're on the religious side or on the scientific side," Courtney clarified.

Logan clenched his jaw, closed his eyes, and repeated what Vittoria did before. After a minute, he answered. "I'm neutral about it."

"You can't be neutral if you had that kind of reaction," Kendall said. Logan glared at him, and this time, so did Courtney, Jennifer, Vittoria, Sophie, and Robert.

Logan looked at Mike. "Can I go for a walk, please, so I won't have the option of potentially strangling _idiota_ over there?"

Mike nodded.

When Logan left the room, Courtney got up and slapped Kendall. He was about to say something when she hissed, "You idiot. His mother was Catholic. He has her rosary beads on him as we speak, you just never thought to ask because you don't care."

He surged from his seat and got in her face. "I DO CARE!"

"Prove it _e figlio di una cagna_!" she yelled back. "What do you really know about Logan?"

"Fine!"

"What's his favorite color?"

"Red."

"No. Black or blue, depending on his mood. Favorite author?"

"I don't know."

"J.K. Rowling. Favorite food?"

"Hamburgers."

"Nope. Anything Italian. You don't know the real him."

"Why do you think you do, then? Huh? You've only dated him for two months."

"Cause I've taken the time to talk to him, unlike you. Do you remember his Katie?"

"Yeah."

"Her death still hurts him, no matter how much he tries to hide it from us. Even though you're too idiotic to see through that façade, I can. I asked. He never told you or the others but she died in his arms. Why do you think he's protective over this Katie -" she pointed to the Katie in the room "- or any other little kid he comes to care for? Or you three, for that matter? He sees you three as little brothers, so he feels the need to protect you." At this point, tears were streaming down her face. Everyone in the room were paler than they were before this conversation-turned-argument started. Sophie, Vittoria, Kelly, Jennifer, Katie, Kalyn, Rachel, and Mary-Grace had tears streaming down their faces, too. "When his Katie was born, he promised that he would protect her, and you know what happened. You know how he is with promises. He feels like he failed on that promise, so he feels the need to protect everyone he cares about to make it up to her. You saw what happened yesterday. He's blaming himself for her death, because he thinks he should have been there.

Now you better go track him down and apologize, and pray that he doesn't strangle you." She pointed to the slightly ajar door as invitation for Kendall to get started. Surprisingly, for everyone that knew him personally, that is, he obeyed the silent command.

When Kendall and Logan returned about twenty minutes later, they noticed that both had tear stains on their faces.

Rachel waited till they both nodded at her to start reading.

'**"Mr. Langdon," Vittoria said, turning, "I assume you are familiar with the Big Bang Theory?"**

**Langodn shrugged. "More or less." The Big Bang, he knew, was _the_ scientifically accepted model for the creation of the universe. He didn't really understand it, but according to the theory, a single point of intensely focused energy erupted in a cataclysmic explosion, expanding outward to form the universe. Or something like that.**

**Vittoria continued. "When the Catholic Church first proposed the Big Bang Theory in 1927, the -"**

**"I'm sorry?" Langdon interrupted, before he could stop himself. "You say the Big Bang was a _Catholic_ idea?"**

**Vittoria looked surprised by his question. "Of course. Proposed by a Catholic monk, Georges Lemaitre, in 1927."**

**"But, I thought. . ." he hesitated. "Wasn't the Big Bang proposed by Harvard astronomer Edwin Hubble?"**

**Kohler glowered. "Again, American scientific arrogance. Hubble published in 1929, two years _after_ Lemaitre."**

**Langdon scowled. _It's called the Hubble Telescope, sir - I've never heard of any Lemaitre Telescope!'_**

"I probably wouldn't have added the 'sir', because, you know, he's a murderer," Kendall said.

Logan just pinched the bridge of his nose and waved Rachel on.

**'"Mr. Kohler is right," Vittoria said, "the idea belonged to Lemaitre. Hubble only _confirmed_ it by gathering the hard evidence that proved the Big Bang was scientifically probable."**

**"Oh," Langdon said, wondering if the Hubble-fanatics in the Harvard Astronomy Department ever mentioned Lemaitre in their lectures.**

**"When Lemaitre first proposed the Big Bang Theory," Vittoria continued, "scientists claimed it was utterly ridiculous. Matter, science said, could not be created out of nothing. So, when Hubble shocked the world by scientifically proving the Big Bang was accurate, the church claimed victory, heralding this as _proof_ that the Bible was scientifically accurate. The divine truth."**

**Langdon nodded, focusing intently now.**

**"Of course scientists did not appreciate having their discoveries used by the church to promote religion, so they immediately mathematicized the Big Bang Theory, removed all religious overtones, and claimed it as their own. Unfortunately for science, however, their equations, even today, have one serious deficiency that the church likes to point out."**

**Kohler grunted. "The _singularity_." He spoke the word as if it were the bane of its existence.'**

"_Tempo zero_," Logan said, looking at Vittoria as he spoke. She nodded.

**'"Yes, the singularity," Vittoria said. "The exact moment of creation. Time zero." She looked at Langdon. "Even today, science cannot grasp the initial moment of creation. Our equation explain the early universe quite effectively, but as we move back in time, approaching time zero, suddenly our mathematics disintegrates, and everything becomes meaningless."**

**"Correct," Kohler said, his voice edgy, "and the church holds up this deficiency as proof of God's miraculous involvement. Come to your point."**

**Vittoria's expression became distant. "My point is that my father had always believed in God's involvement in the Big Bang. Even though science was unable to comprehend the divine moment of creation, he believed someday it_ would_." She motioned sadly to a laser-printed memo tacked over her father's work area. "My dad used to wave that in my face every time I had doubts."**

**Langdon read the message:**

**SCIENCE AND RELIGION ARE NOT AT ODDS.**  
**SCIENCE IS SIMPLY TOO YOUNG TO UNDERSTAND.**

**"My dad wanted to bring science to a higher level," Vittoria said, "where science supported the concept of God." She ran a hand thorough her long hair, looking melancholy. "He set out to do something no scientist had ever thought to do. Something no one has ever had the _technology_ to do." She paused, as though uncertain how to speak the next words. "He designed an experiment to prove Genesis was possible."**

**_Prove Genesis?_ Langdon wondered. _Let there be light? Matter from nothing?_**

**Kohler's dead gaze bored across the room. "I beg your pardon?"**

**"My father created a universe. . .from nothing at all."'**

"_Le partcicelle si scontrano_?" Logan asked.

Vittoria only smiled.

**'Kohler snapped his head around. "What!"**

**"Better said, he recreated the Big Bang."**

**Kohler looked ready to jump to his feet.**

**Langdon was officially lost. _Creating a universe? Recreating the Big Bang?_**  
**"It was done on a much smaller scale, of course," Vittoria said, talking faster now. "The process was remarkably simple. He accelerated two ultrathin particle beams in opposite directions around the accelerator tube. The two beams collided head-on at enormous speeds, driving into one another and compressing all their energy into a single pinpoint. He achieved some extreme energy densities." She started rattling a stream of units, and the director's eyes grew wider.**

**Langdon tried to keep up. _So Leonardo Vetra was simulating the compressed point of energy from which the universe supposedly sprang._**

**"The result," Vittoria said, "was nothing short of wondrous. When it is published, it will shake the very foundation of modern physics." She spoke slowly now, as though savoring the immensity of her news. "Without warning, inside the accelerator tube, at this point of highly focused energy, particles of matter began appearing out of nowhere."'**

Logan's eyes got huge. The teens tried to stop their laughter, but couldn't. When they were finally calm again, Logan's face was red.

**'Kohler made no reaction. He simply stared.**

**"_Matter_," Vittoria repeated. "Blossoming out of nothing. An incredible display of subatomic fireworks. A miniature universe springing to life. He proved not only that matter_ can_ be created from nothing, but that the Big Bang _and_ Genesis can be explained simply by accepting the presence of an enormous source of energy."**

**"You mean _God_?" Kohler demanded.**

**"God, Buddha, The Force, Yahweh, the singularity, the unicity point - call it whatever you like - the result is the same. Science and religion support the same truth - pure _energy_ is the father of creation."**

**When Kohler finally spoke, his voice was somber. "Vittoria, you have me at a loss. It sounds like you're telling me that your father _created_ matter. . .out of nothing?"**

**"Yes." Vittoria motioned to the canisters. "And there is the proof. In those canisters are specimens of the matter he created."**

**Kohler coughed and moved toward the canisters like a wary animal circling something he instinctively sensed was wrong. "I've obviously missed something," he said. "How do you expect anyone to believe these canisters contain particles of matter your father actually _created_? They could be particles from anywhere at all."**

**"Actually," Vittoria said, sounding confident, "they couldn't. These particles are unique. They are a type of matter that does not exist anywhere on earth. . .hence they _had_ to be created."'**

"_Anti-materia_," Logan said.

**'Kohler's expression darkened. "Vittoria, what do you mean a certain _type_ of matter? There is only _one_ type of matter, and it -" Kohler stopped short.**

**Vittoria's expression was triumphant. "You've lectured on it yourself, director. The universe contains _two_ kinds of matter. Scientific fact." Vittoria turned to Langdon. "Mr. Langdon, what does the Bible say about the Creation? What did God create?"**

**Langdon felt awkward, not sure what this had to do with anything. "Um, God created. . .light and dark, heaven and hell -"**

**"Exactly," Vittoria said. "He created everything in opposites. Symmetry. Perfect balance." She turned back to Kohler. "Director, science claims the same thing as religion, that the Big Bang created everything in the universe with an opposite."**

**"Including _matter_ itself," Kohler whispered, as if to himself.**

**Vittoria nodded. "And when my father ran his experiment, sure enough, _two_ kinds of matter appeared."**

**Langdon wondered what this meant. _Leonardo Vetra created matter's opposite?_**

**Kohler looked angry. "The substance you're referring to only exists _elsewhere_ in the universe. Certainly not on earth. And possibly not even in our galaxy!"**

**"Exactly," Vittoria replied, "which is proof that the particles in these canisters had to be _created_."**

**Kohler's face hardened. "Vittoria, surely you can't be saying those canisters contain actual specimens?"**

**"I am." She gazed proudly at the canisters. "Director, you are looking at the world's first specimens of _anti-matter_."'**

"That's it," Rachel said as she handed the book to James.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Chapter 20

AN: Same as before. Enjoy!

**'Twenty,'** James read.

**'Phase two, the Hassassin thought, striding into the darkened tunnel.**

**The torch in his hand was overkill. He knew that. But it was for effect. Effect was everything. Fear, he had learned, was his ally. _Fear cripples faster than any implement of war._**

**There was no mirror in the passage to admire his disguise, but he could sense from the shadow of his billowing robe that he was perfect. Blending in was part of the plan. . .part of the depravity of the plot. In his wildest dreams he had never imagined playing this part.**

**Two weeks ago, he would have considered the task awaiting him at the far end of this tunnel impossible. A suicide mission. Walking naked into a lion's lair. But Janus had changed the definition of impossible.**

**The secrets Janus had shared with the Hassassin in the last two weeks had been numerous. . .this very tunnel being one of them. Ancient, and yet still perfectly passable.**

**As he drew closer to his enemy, the Hassassin wondered if what awaited him inside would be as easy as Janus had promised. Janus had assured him someone on the inside would make the necessary arrangements._ Someone on the inside. Incredible._ The more he considered it, the more he realized it was child's play.**

**_Wahad. . .tintain. . .thalatha. . .arbaa_, he said to himself in Arabic as he neared the end. _One. . .two. . .three. . .four. . .'_**

"Here," James said as he passed the book to Carlos.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Chapter 21

AN: Same as before. Enjoy!

**'Twenty-one,'** Carlos read.

**'"I sense you've heard of anti-matter, Mr. Langdon?" Vittoria was studying him, her dark skin in contrast to the white lab.**  
**Langdon looked up. He felt suddenly dumb. "Yes. Well. . .sort of."**  
**A faint smile crossed her lips. "You watch Star Trek."**  
**Langdon flushed. "Well, my students enjoy. . ." He frowned. "Isn't antimatter what fuels the U.S.S. Enterprise?"**  
**She nodded. "Good science fiction has its roots in good science."**  
**"So antimatter is real?"**  
**"A fact of nature. Everything has an opposite.'**

"Kind of like how Rachel and Courtney are opposites," Carlos said. Aforementioned girls looked at him like he was out of his mind.  
"What do you mean, Carlos?" Jennifer asked, trying to hide a smile.  
"Well," Carlos said, "Courtney can be mean at times while Rachel is nice all the time. Courtney walks like she's some kind of predator stalking its prey and Rachel walks with a spring in her step."  
"So what you're trying to say is," Kelly asked, "is that Rachel is a happy person and Courtney is more calm and can tap into her temper when need be?"  
"Basically yes. Rachel doesn't have a temper."  
"Actually," Courtney said, "everyone has a temper. It just depends on how long it takes to light the fuse."

**'Protons have electrons. Up-quarks have down-quarks. There is a cosmic symmetry at the subatomic level. Antimatter is yin to matter's yang. It balances the physical equation."**  
**Langdon thought of Galileo's belief of duality.**  
**"Scientists have known since 1918," Vittoria said, "that two kinds of matter were created in the Big Bang. One matter is the kind we see on earth, making up rocks, trees, people. The other is its inverse - identical to matter in all respects except that the charges of its particles are reversed."**  
**Kohler spoke as though emerging from a fog. His voice sounded suddenly precarious. "But there are enormous technological barriers to actually storing antimatter. What about neutralization?"**  
**"My father built a reverse polarity vacuum to pull the antimatter positrons out of the accelerator before they could decay."**  
**Kohler scowled. "But a vacuum would pull out the matter also. There would be no way to separate the particles."**  
**"He applied a magnetic field. Matter arced right, and antimatter arced left. They are polar opposites."**  
**At that instant, Kohler's wall of doubt seemed to crack. He looked up at Vittoria in clear astonishment and then without warning was overcome by a fit of coughing. "Incred. . .ible. . ." he said, wiping his mouth, "and yet. . ." It seemed his logic was still resisting. "Yet even if the vacuum worked, these canisters are made of matter. Antimatter cannot be stored inside canisters made out of matter. The antimatter would instantly react with -"**  
**"The specimen is not touching the canister," Vittoria said, apparently expecting the question. "The antimatter is suspended. The canisters are called 'antimatter traps' because they literally trap the antimatter in the center of the canister, suspending it at a safe distance from the sides and bottom."**  
**"Suspended? But. . .how?"**  
**"Between two intersecting magnetic fields. Here, have a look."**  
**Vittoria walked across the room and retrieved a large electronic apparatus. The contraption reminded Langdon of some sort of cartoon ray gun - a wide cannonlike barrel with a sighting scope on top and a tangle of electronics dangling below. Vittoria aligned the scope with one of the canisters, peered into the eyepiece, and calibrated some knobs. Then she stepped away, offering Kohler a look.'**

"At what, exactly?" Kendall asked with a small smirk on his face. Logan face-palmed and said, "Mary-Grace. . .?"  
"On it," she said before she Gibbs-slapped Kendall.

**'Kohler looked nonplussed. "You collected visible amounts?"**  
**"Five thousand nanograms," Vittoria said. "A liquid plasma containing millions of positrons."**  
**"Millions? But a few particles is all anyone has ever detected. . .anywhere."**  
**"Xenon," Vittoria said flatly. "He accelerated the particle beam through a jet of xenon, stripping away the electrons. He insisted on keeping the exact procedure a secret, but it involved simultaneously injecting raw electrons into the accelerator."**  
**Langdon felt lost, wondering if their conversation was still in English.'**

"Don't worry," James told Robert, "that's how we feel sometimes when Logan starts talking about science."  
Logan mock-glared.

**'Kohler paused, the lines in his brow deepening. Suddenly, he drew a short breath. He slumped like he'd been with a bullet.'**

"_Non me dire che lui in realta viene colpito verso la fine del libro_," Logan said with a groan.  
After Vittoria translated what he said, everyone looked at Logan with confusion or (in Robert and Vittoria's case) shock.

**'"Technically that would leave. . ."**  
**Vittoria nodded. "Yes. Lots of it."**  
**Kohler returned his gaze to the canister before him. With a look of uncertainty, he hoisted himself in his chair and placed his eye to the viewer, peering inside. He stared a long time without saying anything. When he finally sat down, his forehead was covered with sweat. The lines on his face had disappeared. His voice was a whisper. "My God. . . you really did it."**  
**Vittoria nodded. "My father did it." "I. . .I don't know what to say."**  
**Vittoria turned to Langdon. "Would you like a look?" She motioned to the viewing device.**  
**Uncertain what to expect, Langdon moved forward. From two feet away, the canister appeared empty. Whatever was inside was'**

"Logan," Carlos said, "can you say this for me?"  
Logan walked over to where Carlos was sitting between James and Rachel. Carlos pointed to the word and Logan said, "Infinitesimal."  
"Thanks, Logie," Carlos said, to which he was swatted lightly on the back of the head.

**'infinitesimal. Langdon placed his eye to the viewer. It took a moment for the image before him to come into focus.**  
**Then he saw it.'**

"He saw something that scarred him for life," Carlos 'read' from the book.  
Rachel hit him lightly and Carlos said, "Alright, alright. I'm reading."

**'The object was not on the bottom of the canister as he expected, but rather it was floating in the center - suspended in midair - a shimmering globule of mercurylike liquid. Hovering as if by magic, the liquid tumbled in space. Metallic wavlets rippled across the droplet's surface. The suspended fluid reminded Langdon of a video he had once seen of a water droplet in zero G. Although he knew the globule was microscopic, he could see every changing gorge and undulation as the ball of plasma rolled slowly in suspension. "It's. . .floating," he said.**  
**"It had better be," Vittoria replied. "Antimatter is highly unstable. Energetically speaking, antimatter is the mirror image of matter, so the two instantly cancel each other out if they come in contact. Keeping antimatter isolate from matter is a challenge, of course, because everything on earth is made of matter. The samples have to be stored without ever touching anything at all - even air."**  
**Langdon was amazed. Talk about working in a vacuum.'**

"Don't tell me you'll be working in a vacuum, too," Logan said to Robert.  
Robert didn't say anything but motioned for Carlos to continue.

**'"These antimatter traps?" Kohler interrupted, looking amazed as he ran a pallid finger around one's base. "They are your father's design?"**  
**"Actually," she said, "they are mine." Kohler looked up.**  
**Vittoria's voice was unassuming. "My father produced the first specimens of antimatter but was stymied by how to store them. I suggested these. Airtight nanocomposite shells with opposing electromagnets at each end."'**

The teens looked at Logan after Carlos read that.  
Logan sighed and said, "Mr. Holt, do you have a piece of paper and a pen I can use?"  
Mike got up and said, "Yes I do, Mr. Mitchell. Let me just get them for you."  
After Mike gave Logan the paper and pen, Logan motioned for the teens to gather around him. Sophie got up so Katie could sit in her seat while the other teens either stood behind the couch Logan, Courtney, and Katie were sitting on, or sat on the floor in front of them. While Logan was explaining the canister and the antimatter to the teens, the adults were conversing in low voices.  
"What will happen to Logan after his mother's funeral?" Sophie asked Jennifer.  
Jennifer sighed and said, "I don't know. His father will probably try to kill him so he can finish the job, but he's unpredictable, and, unfortunately, that's where Logan gets his temper from. Unlike his father, Logan would only hurt someone if someone -"  
"Hurt someone that Logan cared about," Robert interrupted. "Last night, Logan told me about his Katie, but I don't think it was something as simple as her getting hit by the neighbor's car. I think his father had something to do with it."  
"Maybe he didn't want a little girl," Peter said.  
"Especially one who was deaf in her right ear," Robert muttered, but the adults still heard.  
"But why would he kill a little girl?" Mike asked. "What could a little girl do to her father that would cause him to kill her?"  
"Unfortunately, just about anything," Jennifer said. "I had the experience of being his neighbor when they moved to Minnesota. He wouldn't let the boys play in the front yard, only in the back, which normally wouldn't be a problem, but their backyard opened up into the forest. So, James's parents, Carlos's parents, and I let them play in our yards. Also, it was very rare of Logan to ask them to go over to his house, he only asked when he wasn't in town."  
"We have noticed that Logan switches back and forth from Italian to English and back again," Vittoria said, "but when he speaks in English, he has a little bit of an Italian accent. He has said that his mother taught him Italian."  
"Where are you going with this, Ms. Vetra?" Gustavo demanded.  
"I'm trying to figure out if his father killed his Katie and his mother because they had Italian blood in them," Vittoria retorted.  
"I'm sorry," Kelly said, "but if that was the case, then why didn't he kill Logan when he was younger and weaker. If he tried to kill him now, he'd have to put up a very big fight cause Logan isn't going down without one, especially since his father is the one that murdered his mother."  
"Maybe he wanted to mold Logan to be just like him," Robert suggested. At the stares he was getting from the adults, he continued with his train of thought. "Little boys want to be just like their dads, am I right?" When the men and Jennifer nodded, he continued. "Well, maybe he tried to play into that aspect, but was too pushy with him. Maybe -"  
"We're done if you want to continue," Courtney said. When the adults turned around, they saw that the teens had moved back to their seats.

"Alright," Mike said after he sat down in his seat. "Mr. Garcia, you may continue."

**'"It seems your father's genius has rubbed off."**  
**"Not really. I borrowed the idea from nature. Portuguese man-o'-wars trap fish between their tentacles using nematocystic charges. Same principle here. Each canister has two electromagnets, one at each end. Their opposing magnetic fields intersect in the center of the canister and hold the antimatter there, suspended in midvaccum."'**

"When are we having lunch?" Carlos asked suddenly.  
"After the chapter," Jennifer said.

**'Langdon looked again at the canister. Antimatter floating in a vacuum, not touching anything at all. Kohler was right. It was genius.**  
**"Where's the power source for the magnets?" Kohler asked.**  
**Vittoria pointed. "In the pillar beneath the trap. The canisters are screwed into a docking port that continuously recharges them so the magnets never fail."**  
**"And if the field fails?"**  
**"The obvious. The antimatter falls out of suspension, hits the bottom of the trap, and we see an annihilation."'**

"Uh oh," Kendall said.  
"Nah dip, Sherlock," Courtney said with sarcasm.

**'Langdon's ears pricked up. "Annihilation?" He didn't like the sound of it.**  
**Vittoria looked unconcerned. "Yes. If antimatter and matter make contact, both are destroyed instantly. Physicists call the process 'annihilation.'"**  
**Langdon nodded. "Oh."**  
**"It is nature's simplest reaction. A particle of matter and a particle of antimatter combine to release two new particles - called photons. A photon is effectively a tiny puff of light."**  
**Langdon had read about photons - light particles - the purest form of energy. He decided to refrain from asking about Captain Kirk's use of photon torpedoes against the Klingons.'**

Everyone either chuckled or giggled.

**'"So if the antimatter fails, we see a tiny puff of light?"**  
**Vittoria shrugged. "Depends what you call tiny. Here, let me demonstrate." She reached for the canister and started to unscrew it from its charging podium.**  
**Without warning, Kohler let out a cry of terror and lunged forward, knocking her hands away. "Vittoria! Are you insane!"'**

Carlos looked up and said, "That's the end of the chapter. Can we go eat now?"  
Jennifer nodded and everyone started to head out the door, on their way to the lunch hall.  
After they were done eating, Mary-Grace picked up the book and read, "Chapter Twenty-Two."

AN: I am sooo sorry for leaving it this long, but I promise I'm back. I've had to do some things for my family and I'm working for the local library, so that's taken some time away from this. I'm not going to be able to update next weekend, or June 28 - 30 because we are going to Gulf Port, Mississippi. It would be nice to meet any of you that live or are going there. :) Please review. You can tell me anything you want, from who your favorite character(s) is to what you hate about a character(s). Well, till next time, my lovely readers/reviewers.

Love, runningtonirvana1997


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